In October, engineer and entrepreneur Patrick Simpson, who’s working on a mobile device
to recycle ocean waste into plastic lumber, produced his first run of plastic 2x4s. Since June,
Inletkeeper and our partners have contributed to the effort by collecting plastic waste at the
Inletkeeper Community Action Studio and the Goods Sustainable Grocery in Soldotna, and at the
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies and Sustainable Wares in Homer.

The plastic boards—initially to be used as freight dunnage for American Fast Freight—are the
culmination of a year of work. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency awarded Simpson funding
for the project this January. The recycling hardware of his Mobile Plastic Ocean Waste Recycler
(MPOWR), which fits inside a 53-foot trailer, was delivered to Alaska from its builder in New York
this summer. Simpson has since experimented with different plastic mixes and is now seeking a
rental lot in the Central Peninsula to stockpile plastics over the winter, so that in spring he can bring
the MPOWR to town and turn trash to treasure.

We’re taking #1,2,4, and 5 plastics at our collection locations in Homer and Soldotna. No need to
sort them—we collect them all in one container. You don’t need to peel off labels, but please make
sure your plastics are reasonably clean. Lids can be recycled too, if #1, 2, 4, or 5, but please take them
off for easier compaction. Find more information at inletkeeper.org/recycle-plastic.

Thank you to the businesses volunteering as collection locations, and to everyone who’s brought in
plastic. With higher levels of microplastics found in our salmon and our own blood, we must address
the root of the problem—wasteful overproduction and consumption of plastic for many single use
products. This innovative local solution is part of the bigger picture that will help keep plastic out
of our landfills and oceans.

Collection Locations:

Central Peninsula: Community Action Studio & The Goods Sustainable Grocery
Homer: Sustainable Wares & The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies

Questions? Reach out to ben@inletkeeper.org

Thank you for reading. We are able to do this work because of member support from concerned friends like you. Please donate today to protect Cook Inlet for our future generations.