Ope Petrel home-office focus tool also cleans up ocean plastic

Oceans are drowning in plastic waste. About 9 million metric tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year, and only 20 per cent worldwide is recycled, threatening ecosystems, wildlife and human health.

Today’s linear production system contributes to this problem, as natural resources are extracted, products are produced and then discarded into the environment. By 2025, global production systems will use about 140 billion metric tons per year of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass – three times the current consumption. Most of this will end up as waste.

Productivity tool made from ocean plastic in a closed-loop value chain

Ope Petrel is a tool that helps employees working from home to stay focused, consciously organise their workday, and non-verbally communicate their availability to others. Analogue in design, the tool sits on the work desk. The employee adjusts the position of the wooden piece resting in the plastic base as needed to consciously switch between work and home life.

Ope Petrel is made entirely from ownerless marine plastic waste and reclaimed wood. The innovative business model takes sustainability a step further by creating a closed-loop value chain. This ensures that Ope Petrel will be used multiple times and that the plastic will never return to the environment as waste.

The value chain is facilitated by Ope and Ogoori, a company established by Ope, Vestre and environmentalist Rune Gaasø. In Ogoori’s “material as a service” model, new plastic material from ownerless marine waste is linked to relevant data and safely stored in useful products, such as Ope Petrel. The product and data are provided as a subscription. The subscription also includes additional ocean clean-up in the form of plastic credits, which will help the customer to further reduce its plastic footprint.

Blockchain technology is used to keep track of the plastic for its entire lifetime, from origin to end-user, and for multiple life cycles. If a customer decides to discontinue the subscription, the plastic products are returned so they can be reused rather than discarded.

Concrete benefits

The service model for Ope Petrel has zero waste and does not entail the energy consumption and costs related to extraction of raw materials, transportation and production of new plastic products.

Even more important, through the subscription each Ope Petrel cleans up ownerless marine waste 10 times its own plastic weight, linking office work with saving the planet.

Market potential

The global recycled plastic market is expected to reach USD 7.6 billion by the end of 2026.

In addition, international conventions, government regulations and consumer concerns are pressuring businesses to reduce their plastic footprint.

Moreover, the share of European workers who work from home has risen from 15 per cent to 25 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a potential new market for work-from-home focus tools.

Ope Petrel was introduced to the market in autumn 2020.