John Keells Group’s Plasticcycle and The Pearl Protectors mark Three-Year Milestone in Marine Conservation Partnership

Earlier this month, Plasticcycle, the social entrepreneurship project of the John Keells Group, reaffirmed its partnership with The Pearl Protectors (TPP) for the third consecutive year to continue supporting the “Cleaner Seabeds for Sri Lanka” expedition - an initiative aimed at removing marine litter and abandoned fishing gear from coral reefs and sensitive marine ecosystems across the island.

This partnership on the Cleaner Seabeds for Sri Lanka Expedition, which commenced in April 2023, has enabled Plasticcycle to extend its plastic pollution mitigation efforts beneath the ocean surface, aligning with its vision to be a catalyst in significantly reducing plastic pollution in Sri Lanka. To date, over 60 underwater clean-up dives have been conducted with the support of 175 PADI-certified volunteer divers, resulting in the recovery of over 1.9 metric tonnes (MT) of plastic waste, including Abandoned, Lost, or Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG), plastic bottles, food wrappers, and plastic bags.

Nisreen Rehmanjee, Head of Corporate Finance, Group Tax and Social Entrepreneurship & Executive Vice President, John Keells Group, said, “We are extremely proud of this partnership. Our continued support of this initiative has seen tremendous impact. For example, this has led to the complete removal of ghost fishing nets from key marine locations, including the Thilip Reef in Trincomalee and the iconic Thermopylae Sierra shipwreck off the coast of Angulana, restoring these sites to safer, healthier ecosystems for marine life. The project has not only involved clean-ups, but also comprehensive marine litter surveys conducted by the volunteers of this expedition across coastal areas such as Colombo, Mirissa, Weligama, Mannar, Kayankerani and Trincomalee, aimed at gathering data to inform better marine waste management strategies.”

Muditha Katuwawala, the Founder/Executive Director of TPP, said, “The collaboration between Plasticcycle and The Pearl Protectors has been a significant milestone towards ocean conservation in Sri Lanka. Cleaner Seabeds for Sri Lanka is a first-of-its-kind conservation effort focusing on revitalising and protecting the sensitive marine ecosystems and reefs around Sri Lanka from various types of pollution. Over the years, together, we have achieved significant goals to transform such areas into vibrant and healthy ecosystems.”

In recognition of their leadership in ALDFG mitigation, the expedition team were appointed to the National Steering Committee on ALDFG Pollution by the Ministry of Environment, where they support national efforts to improve the collection and recycling of waste fishing gear, particularly nylon-based materials.

Plasticcycle is the social entrepreneurship project of the John Keells Group. John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH), which is the largest conglomerate listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, operating with over 70 companies in 7 diverse industry sectors. With a history of over 150 years, John Keells Group provides employment to over 14,000 persons and has been ranked as Sri Lanka's 'Most Respected Entity' for the last 17 Years by LMD magazine. John Keells Holdings PLC was ranked first for the third consecutive year in the 'Transparency in Corporate Reporting Assessment' by Transparency International Sri Lanka. Whilst being a full member of the World Economic Forum and a participant of the UN Global Compact, JKH drives its CSR vision of “Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow” through John Keells Foundation.