Monaco-backed Plastic Odyssey plans second ship
By Zak Jackson, MonacoViews Editorial
The Monaco-supported Plastic Odyssey project is developing a second vessel to expand its plastic waste recycling missions to UNESCO-listed marine sites.
Plastic Odyssey, the expedition ship that collects plastic waste from coastlines and turns it into usable materials, is now at the design stage for a second vessel. The project, which has drawn backing from Monaco, aims to scale up an approach that treats discarded plastic as a resource rather than simply waste to be removed.
"We can no longer stay within the triangle of inaction between consumers, industry and policymakers," the team behind the project has said, framing the expansion as a response to slow progress elsewhere on marine plastic pollution. The original ship has already worked with coastal communities in several countries, setting up small-scale recycling units that process waste locally rather than shipping it abroad.
With a second vessel in the pipeline, Plastic Odyssey's ambitions now extend to marine sites protected under UNESCO designations, places where plastic pollution poses a particular threat to biodiversity but where intervention has often been limited. Monaco's continued involvement, consistent with the Principality's broader push on ocean conservation through bodies linked to the Prince Albert II Foundation, positions the project as one of the more visible Monaco-connected environmental initiatives operating on an international scale.