CEO Daniel Birnbaum Leads 300 SodaStream Executives from
Around the World, Local Youth and Environmental NGOs to Clean
Caribbean Sea and Roatán Shores
AIRPORT CITY, Israel,
Oct. 15, 2018 /CNW/
-- SodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA) today
announced the launch of the "Holy Turtle" - a massive ocean
contraption designed to clean plastic waste from open waters. The
innovative device will be initially piloted today in the Caribbean
Sea, off the coast of Roatán, Honduras, as part of a bold ocean clean-up
lead by CEO Daniel
Birnbaum. This is the first-known attempt of a
commercial company to undertake a physical clean-up of trash from
open waters. SodaStream's clean-up delegation includes 150
SodaStream executives from 45 countries, international
environmental specialists, NGO Plastic Soup Foundation and hundreds
of children from 7 different local schools with local Honduran
government officials.
The "Holy Turtle" is a 1,000 ft. long floating unit designed to
be gently towed by two marine vessels along kilometers of open
waters. The contraption is uniquely engineered to capture
floating waste while its large vent holes act to protect
wildlife. The device design was inspired by oil spill
containment systems and was developed by ABBCO in Florida, USA, who are leading experts in oil
spill containment.
SodaStream's Roatán initiative was inspired by a video filmed by
Caroline Powers in October 2017 featured on BBC highlighting
underwater photography of a floating trash patch off the
Caribbean coast of
Roatán. Moved by the disturbing video, SodaStream CEO,
Daniel Birnbaum, himself an
experienced skipper and naval officer, lead a search for a solution
to clean up this floating waste. Birnbaum noted, "We can't
clean up all the plastic waste on the planet, but we each need to
do whatever we can. The most important thing is to commit
ourselves to stop using single-use plastic."
The plastic pollution collected by the "Holy Turtle" will be
used to create an exhibition to raise awareness and educate
consumers around the world toward reducing consumption of single
use plastic in all forms including plastic cups, straws, bags and
bottles.
The four-day SodaStream mission to Honduras includes participation of children
from 7 local schools who will not only work together with
SodaStream executives during the clean-up, but will also receive
educational sessions from environmental experts to become
ambassadors for the environment within their community. Guest
speakers include Maria Westerbos, founder of Plastic Soup
Foundation; Chris Jordan, Art
Photographer who famously captured the piece "Albatross", a
powerful visual journey of the gut-wrenching environmental tragedy
on Midway Island in the Pacific; Laura
Leiva, Marine Plastics Researcher from the Alfred-Wegener
Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany; Elena
Gonzalez, co-founder of the Bay Island Coastal Clean-up and
Mishelle Mejia, sustainability and
CSR consultant.
"More than 8 million tons of plastic goes into the ocean every
year. This plastic doesn't disappear. It breaks up into tiny
particles, floats in the ocean, endangers marine life and ends up
in our food chain," said Birnbaum. "We must all put our hands
together to reduce the use of single-use plastic and commit
ourselves to changing our habits and go reusable. It's in our
hands."
For the complete agenda and more information, please
visit www.roatan2018.com.
About SodaStream
SodaStream is the No. 1 sparkling
water brand in the world (in terms of volume consumption) and
has recently announced being acquired by PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP)
for $3.2 Billion (expected to close
approximately year end 2018). SodaStream enables
consumers to easily transform ordinary tap water into
sparkling water and flavored sparkling water in seconds. By
making ordinary water fun and exciting to drink, SodaStream helps
consumers drink more water. SodaStream sparkling water makers
offer a highly differentiated and innovative alternative to
consumers of bottled and canned carbonated soft drinks. The
products promote health and wellness, are environmentally friendly,
cost effective, and are customizable and fun to use. Products
are available at more than 80,000 retail stores across 45
countries. To learn more about how SodaStream makes water
exciting, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
Instagram and YouTube or
visit www.SodaStream.com.
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SOURCE SodaStream International Ltd.