HP debuts first PC made using ocean-bound Plastics

HP has marked the launch of its first PC to be made using ocean-bound plastic by pledging to expand the use of collected plastic waste that is destined to pollute the oceans to more of its product range.

The company today unveiled the new HP Elite Dragonfly, hailing it as the world's first notebook made with ocean-bound plastic. HP said the product weighs less than 1kg and features a speaker enclosure component is made with 50 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic including five per cent ocean-bound plastics.

The marine plastic waste has been collected through a partnership between HP, Thread International and Work in Haiti, which has led to the upcycling of more than one million pounds of ocean-bound plastic bottles while also creating more than 1,100 income opportunities for adults in the country and providing 150 children with quality education, food, and medical assistance.

The partnership kicked off in 2016 when HP joined the First Mile Coalition to clean up plastic waste and create economic opportunities for the people of Haiti. Since then the tech giant has sourced over 450 tonnes of ocean-bound plastics from Haiti, equivalent to more than 35 million plastic bottles that have not entered the Caribbean Sea.

HP currently offers three products featuring ocean-bound plastics - the Elite Dragonfly, the EliteDisplay E273d, the Original HP ink cartridge - but the company today announced it intends to scale up its use of the material and has committed to including ocean-bound plastic material in all new HP Elite and HP Pro desktop and notebook computers launching in 2020.

It also confirmed it is to invest a further $2m in further expanding recycling infrastructure in HP as it seeks to expand its ocean-bound plastic supply chain.

"Our circular economy strategy is about shifting our production to eliminate waste and enable a system that can sustain our levels of consumption in harmony with nature and our singular planet Earth for generations to come," said Ellen Jackowski, global head of sustainability and strategy at HP Inc. "We've been using recycled content in our products for over a decade and our thrilled to hit yet another milestone in our efforts to protect our planet and our oceans."

In addition to its partnerships in Haiti, HP last year joined the NextWave Plastics consortium of businesses, which is working to scale up the use of ocean-bound plastic globally.

Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale, the convening entity for NextWave Plastics, said HP was "scaling one of the most effective supply chains that is 'turning off the tap' on ocean-bound plastics while improving the local community".

"There are currently more than 86 million metric tons of plastic in our ocean, and each year, over eight million metric tons of additional plastic enters the ocean," he said. "We are proud that our member companies continue to scale commercially viable and operational ocean-bound plastics supply chains - keeping plastic in the economy and out of the ocean."