Kia Delivers Electric Vehicles to Clean Ocean Plastic

A car company and a nonprofit are teaming up to stop plastic pollution at its source, and their partnership just got a major boost.

Kia announced it's delivering four new electric vehicles to The Ocean Cleanup, a Netherlands-based nonprofit working to remove plastic from oceans and rivers worldwide. The two EV3s and two EV4s will support teams removing waste from waterways before it flows into the Pacific Ocean.

The partnership started in 2022 when Kia first joined forces with The Ocean Cleanup. Since then, the companies have worked together on every step of the process, from collecting ocean plastic to transforming it into usable products.

The newest EV3s come with a special feature that shows how far the collaboration goes. Each vehicle includes a trunk liner made entirely from plastic collected from the Pacific Garbage Patch, proving that ocean waste can become something useful again.

Kia already donated four electric vehicles in 2024, including one EV6 and three Niro EVs. These latest additions bring the fleet to eight vehicles dedicated to protecting marine ecosystems.

The vehicles will support The Ocean Cleanup's expansion in the Los Angeles area. The team uses devices called "Interceptors" that work like nets in rivers, catching plastic before it reaches the ocean.

One Interceptor already installed in LA's Ballona Creek has stopped more than 175 tons of waste from entering the Pacific. The Ocean Cleanup plans to add new Interceptors to the LA River and San Gabriel River, which could prevent up to 570 tons of plastic annually from reaching the ocean.

At a recent event at the Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach, Kia's US Vice President Eric Watson joined Ocean Cleanup founder Boyan Slat and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson to announce the expanded partnership. The gathering highlighted how private companies and nonprofits can work together on environmental challenges.

The Ripple Effect

This partnership shows how corporate support can multiply impact beyond simple donations. By providing electric vehicles, Kia enables cleanup teams to reach more sites while reducing carbon emissions from their own operations. The recycled trunk liners prove the collected plastic doesn't just disappear but transforms into everyday products, creating a full circle of sustainability.

Ricardo Parina, The Ocean Cleanup's partnership general manager, emphasized that Kia stands out as a major partner supporting everything from field operations to recycling innovation. Dante Gili, marketing director at Kia Europe, called the collaboration a key pillar of the company's long-term sustainability strategy.

With rivers carrying an estimated 80% of ocean plastic pollution, stopping waste before it leaves land makes cleanup efforts far more effective and less costly than fishing plastic from the open sea.