To help raise awareness of plastic waste, an appliance maker is making vacuum cleaners from plastic debris “harvested” from the sea.

First we heard about plastic debris on the beaches, then it was the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and now we have the Atlantic Garbage Patch, showing us that after many years of cheap plastic goods, it’s time to pay the piper. We’re littering the ocean with tons and tons of garbage, much of which is plastic - something that doesn’t just ‘go away’.

It needs to be cleaned up. But due to the resources needed to take on a project of that size, an vacuum cleaner for the ocean is probably many years away. What we can do individually right now is to recycle everything we can, buy items made from recycled materials, and skip buying all the things with throwaway packaging.

On land, we struggle to get hold of enough recycled plastics to meet the demand for sustainable vacuum cleaners. What the world needs now is a better plastic karma”. - Cecilia Nord, Vice President, Floor Care Environmental and Sustainability Affairs, Electrolux.

To help shed some light on the topic from a design and manufacturing view, appliance maker Electrolux is building a limited number of vacuums made from plastic debris harvested from the oceans. The hope is that it will help to increase the demand for, and supply of, raw recycled plastics.

“More recycling directly translates into more sustainable appliances and homes. Our engineers have managed to get our green range vacuum cleaners up to 70 percent recycled plastic but our ultimate vision is of course 100 percent, and for all ranges”. - Jonas Magnusson, Product Marketing Manager at Electrolux.

”We intend to collect the plastic with a minimum environmental impact. This is a reason for why we are taking help from organizations that already exist and are engaged in the issue.

Depending on the local plastic situation the gathering of plastics will vary – from diving among coral reefs, clean-ups closer to shore to scooping up plastic directly from the water surface. The vacuum cleaners that are to be produced from the material gathered will be put on display for the world, decision makers and consumers to see.

At this point, there is no plan to actually sell the units produced. Separating the plastic cocktail is a great challenge and plastics in the ocean tend to act like sponges for other toxins.”

For more info, check out Vac from the Sea, or catch up with them on Twitter.