Hyundai Turns 320 Tons Ghost Nets Into Car Mats

Off the coast of Catalina Island, the fishing vessel Midnight Hour has been sitting on the ocean floor for 15 years, wrapped in a deadly tangle of abandoned fishing nets. These "ghost nets" drift in the current, trapping debris and killing marine life that can't escape.

But divers are now pulling these deadly traps from the ocean and giving them a second life. Hyundai has partnered with the nonprofit Healthy Seas to turn recovered fishing nets into recycled floor mats for their cars.

The partnership started in Europe and Korea in 2021 and just brought its first mission to American waters. Working with Ghost Diving USA, volunteers dove to the Midnight Hour wreck site near Catalina to cut loose years of tangled netting and haul it up for recycling.

Since 2013, Healthy Seas has pulled more than 1,300 tons of ghost nets and marine debris from oceans worldwide. The suitable nylon gets regenerated into recycled yarn called ECONYL, which becomes new floor mats in Hyundai models like the IONIQ, INSTER, SANTA FE, and NEXO sold in Europe.

Hyundai Turns 320 Tons of Ocean Ghost Nets Into Car Mats

Across ten countries where the partnership operates, Hyundai has helped recover more than 320 tons of marine litter. Every pull from the wreck site brings up debris that's been collecting for over a decade, freeing the ocean one net at a time.

The Ripple Effect

The California mission is part of a bigger initiative called From Sea to Shore. Hyundai employees cleaned up Huntington State Beach while local kids learned about protecting marine life at an "Ocean Heroes" workshop at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley.

"We are connecting different parts of the same story," said Veronika Mikos, Director of Healthy Seas. "Removing litter from the coast, recovering ghost fishing gear from the ocean, and inspiring children to understand and protect marine life."

The partnership proves that ocean trash doesn't have to stay trash forever, and that corporate partnerships can create real environmental wins while making practical products people use every day.