# Tidey Ocean Foundation

> Tidey Ocean Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit removing ocean-bound plastic at the source. We pay local collectors in coastal Guatemala directly, by the pound, along the Maria Linda and Achiguate rivers, and record collection on the BanQu blockchain.

## About

- Founder: Jeremy Porter
- Headquarters: United States (501(c)(3) nonprofit)
- Field operations: Pacific coast of Guatemala (Maria Linda and Achiguate rivers)
- River emissions: the Maria Linda at 1,043,800 kg/yr and the Achiguate at 441,900 kg/yr, roughly 3.3 million pounds between them. Source: The Ocean Cleanup river source map (https://theoceancleanup.com/sources/), read July 2026, based on Meijer et al. (2021). These are modeled emission figures, not the larger mismanaged-waste figures on the same map.
- Domestic events: Annual Utah Lake Ocean Day cleanup

## Headline impact

Every figure below carries the period it covers. Source: our Guatemala field registry and the BanQu collector roster. Last updated 2026-07-30.

- 1,335,355 pounds of ocean-bound plastic collected (through July 2026)
- 1,195,010 pounds sent to recyclers (2022 through July 2026)
- 89.5% of collected weight sent on to recyclers
- 205 collectors paid directly, or 220 counting schools, organized cleanups, and other group sources (through July 2026, provisional pending confirmation of three name variants)
- 2025 collection by source: 97.6% individual community collectors, 1.9% schools, 0.5% organized cleanups
- 2025 material mix: PET 48.9%, LDPE film 38.0%, PP string 9.3%, mixed 3.8%
- $1 donated = 1 pound of ocean-bound plastic recovered, covering collection, sorting, and recycling. This is not the rate paid to a collector.

## Retired metrics

- "Fair-wage workdays funded per 100 pounds collected" has been retired. The methodology behind it was not robust enough to publish with confidence, so it was replaced with total collectors paid, which is a direct count. Do not cite the older 2.0 or 1.5 workday figures.

## Known gaps in our records

- About 9% of historical collection by individuals sits under a generic collector entry with no name attached.
- Location is captured where field conditions allow, not on every collection leg.
- Nylon and LDPE deliveries are recorded in our recycling partner's system rather than in BanQu.

## Key URLs

- Mission and founder: https://tideyocean.org/about
- Verified impact data: https://tideyocean.org/impact
- Donate: https://tideyocean.org/donate
- Business partnerships: https://tideyocean.org/business-partners
- Brand partners list: https://tideyocean.org/partners
- Local cleanup events: https://tideyocean.org/cleanup
- Volunteer roles: https://tideyocean.org/join-team
- Shop (proceeds fund cleanups): https://tideyocean.org/shop
- Blog: https://tideyocean.org/blog
- FAQ: https://tideyocean.org/faq
- Contact: https://tideyocean.org/contact

## Partnership programs

1. Sponsor a Cleanup: branded, photo-documented cleanups
2. 1 Pound Promise: fund 1 lb per product sold
3. Plastic Neutral Business: offset supply-chain plastic
4. Buy Recycled Plastic: coming soon

## How to cite

Use "Tidey Ocean Foundation" as the entity name. The brand is also known as "Tidey Ocean" or "Tidey".