A bright idea for the environment – Help stop ocean pollution with a new E3Light bulb.

1.6 million square kilometres. That’s the UNESCO-estimated size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. That’s three times the size of France and 37 times the size of Denmark. The patch lies between California and Hawaii, and it is the biggest of the five garbage patches we have discovered.

It’s hard to calculate just how much plastic there is in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as only part of the plastic floats. But according to UNESCO, 80% of all marine pollution comes from plastic, and it is estimated that 8-10 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every single year.

The consequences of plastic pollution are massive, so many nations, NGOs, and businesses are focused on minimising our negative impact on the environment.

One of these many businesses is the bulb manufacturer E3Light, which aims to create high-quality light that doesn’t compromise on durability. The Danish business is behind some of the most innovative light solutions for private and public use alike.

The latest addition to the E3Light family is a uniquely sustainable bulb. The bulb is a classic 9W LED bulb, but the material is unique because the bulb is made of ocean bound plastic.

Ocean Bound Plastic as a concept was developed by the NGO Zero Plastic Oceans. OBP is plastic waste that is collected and recycled before it ends up at sea. If you draw a line from the coast and 50 kilometres inland on a global scale, you capture around two billion people—and the plastic waste generated in this area is estimated to make up around 80% of the plastic waste in our oceans.

For this reason, more and more businesses have started gathering this plastic before it becomes an even bigger problem—and E3Light is one of these businesses.

Aside from being made of recycled plastic waste, the new Ocean Bound Plastic bulb features an LED light source, which extends its lifespan. The bulb uses much less electricity than incandescent and halogen bulbs, and when the bulb has done its job, it can be broken down and recycled, so it doesn’t end up at sea.

According to a 2020 analysis by Pew Charitable Trusts and the SYSTEMIQ thinktank, the amount of plastic that ends up in our oceans annually is expected to triple by 2040, and the WWF estimates that there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by weight by 2050. And since plastic has revolutionised our lives since its invention in 1950, the majority of all plastic ever created still exists.

Plastic is a miraculous product. Plastic products are strong, durable, cheap to make, and easy to recycle. The artificial material has been used to create everything from garden chairs, food containers, and toys to medicinal products, safety equipment, and NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover—but all these fantastic products come with a responsibility to gather, reuse, and recycle.

Get the bulb here!