As a commercial diver, joining a salvage operation for a wrecked cargo ship brought Ally Mitchell face-to-face with the detrimental impact of plastic waste. That experience led him to not only create a new product, recycled Ocean Plastic Pots—but also inspired people everywhere with content captured on his Galaxy smartphone. With photos that make circularity more real and videos offering the next generation a roadmap for more sustainable thinking, he is turning something that’s negative for the environment into a positive one. Hear how Galaxy user Ally Mitchell is innovating for a better future—all with the help of Galaxy technology.
My Name is Ally and I Founded Ocean Plastic Pots
I was a saturation diver working in the North Sea and a commercial diver in Scotland for 13 years. I dived all around the world from the Ivory Coast to Singapore and most of Europe. The deepest I’ve dived is 160 meters and I used to spend up to a month at a time under pressure.
It is estimated 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans every year.
I experienced first hand the detrimental impact plastic waste is having on our marine life, and was really saddened by the volume of plastic I was finding in the sea and on our beaches. I knew I had to do something.
Ocean Plastic Pots is a business with a purpose.
The Whale
In December 2019 a 26 tonne Sperm Whale washed up on Luskentyre Beach on the Isle of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. It had 100kg of rope, fishing net and plastic debris inside of it.
Three months later, during lockdown, i found myself working as a diver on the salvage of a cargo ship the MV Kaami. The ship was carrying 1937 tons of shredded waste plastic to be incinerated.
It had hit a reef only 20km from the very same beach where the whale had washed up. This job was the catalyst behind Ocean Plastic Pots.
Learn more here
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