Announced on June 8 during the official World Oceans Day, the MINI X GRAVITY WAVE collaboration strives to clean up our fragile waters. For each car sold through June 2023, MINI Spain pledges to remove 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of plastic from the sea.
Less than seven months later, more than 2,000 kg (4,409 lbs) of plastics have been taken out of the Mediterranean Sea. Not only that but the plastic waste has already been recycled and will be repurposed to make new products, including street furniture.
The ultimate goal is to remove 10,000 kg (22,046 lbs) from the seabed. The team at GRAVITY WAVE, a social entrepreneurship project, points out that nearly half of all the plastic waste found in the sea is abandoned fishnets. Unfortunately, this is the worst waste possible since it takes over 1,000 years to decompose.
The “MINI for the Oceans” project is highlighted by a Cooper SE electric hatchback wearing a special livery. The British brand believes cleaning up the ocean is not only good for the environment, but it also shows the benefits of a circular economy by reusing materials. With the i Vision Circular concept, parent company BMW showed how it can make more with less by heavily relying on recycled parts.
On average, just under 30% of BMW Group cars are currently made from recycled and reused materials, but the percentage will gradually increase to 50% in the coming years. Coming in 2025, the Neue Klasse platform for EVs will feature trim parts manufactured from recycled fishing nets and ropes. Doing so will cut the carbon footprint by 25% during the production process compared to the current plastic-made parts.
Recycled nylon waste originating from discarded fishing nets is already used as the basis for synthetic yarn (ECONYL) for the floor mats of the iX1 and iX electric SUVs. From 2025, all BMW Group cars will employ recycled materials to some extent. The cars themselves are already 95% recyclable at the end of the life cycle.
Source: MINI Spain
