Your impact, independently checked

Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Certification

With everwave, your impact is independently verified: externally certified under the internationally recognized Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Standard. This ensures that your environmental impact is transparent and fully traceable, from collection through to recycling.

Schedule a call

Luftaufnahme eines Flussufers in Kambodscha, an dem ein blau-gelbes Sammelsystem große Mengen an Plastikmüll aus dem Wasser gefischt hat.

Why this matters to you

At everwave, we remove plastic waste from rivers and waterways before it reaches the ocean. The Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Standard ensures that every step of this process is independently and externally audited. As a result, the Plastic Credits generated through our projects are fully traceable and transparently documented.

Solid evidence

GPS data, photo documentation and our own everwave software: every Credit is traceable from collection through to certificate.

ESG- and CSRD-ready reporting

You get detailed waste collection certificates with quantity, location, date and order number - solid documentation for sustainability reports.

Verified origin

OBP certification confirms that the plastic waste collected genuinely comes from high-risk zones near coastlines and waterways.

No double counting

Individual IDs and our own track-and-trace system ensure that every Plastic Credit is clearly assigned and issued only once.

External Certification

Audited from collection to Plastic Credit

Collection

Our own cleanup boats and barriers, local teams on the ground, GPS and photo documentation.

OBP certification

Proof that the waste comes from within 50 km of the coast, or from at-risk waterways.

Processing

Sorting at local zero-waste centers, followed by local processing.

Credit issuance

An individually trackable Plastic Credit per kilogram, visible in our own tracking system.

Independent Verification. Complete Traceability.

At everwave, our work and our product are validated through certification under two Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) standards: the OBP Neutralization Services Provider Standard and the OBP Collection Organization Standard. As a result, both our Plastic Credits and our entire process, from collection to final recovery or disposal, are comprehensively audited, transparently documented, and independently verifiable from start to finish.

Neutralization Services Provider Standard

The Neutralization Services Provider Standard focuses on our core product: Plastic Credits. The certification ensures that these credits are generated exclusively through the collection and responsible processing of non-commercially recyclable Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP).

This refers to plastic waste that has no economic value for waste collectors or collection organizations and would often remain in the environment without additional funding.

The standard covers:

Collection of Ocean Bound Plastic
Responsible waste management and recovery (excluding landfilling)

The certification ensures that collected Ocean Bound Plastic is documented in accordance with clearly defined social and environmental criteria.

View Certification

Mitarbeitende sortieren gesammelten Flussmüll an einem Förderband in einer Abfallverarbeitungsanlage in Kambodscha. Verwertbare Materialien werden für Recycling und weitere Verarbeitung getrennt.

Collection Organization Standard

The Collection Organization Standard verifies the origin of Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) from the very first collection point and ensures complete traceability of the material throughout the entire value chain. This traceability extends all the way to the final stage of responsible recovery, such as co-processing or recycling into new products.

The standard covers:

Collection of Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP)
Documentation and traceability of collected material
Storage, sorting, and transportation of collected material

The certification confirms that the collected material meets the defined Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) criteria and is collected and documented in accordance with established social, environmental, and operational requirements.

What this means for you as a partner: The origin and collection of the OBP are transparent, documented, and fully traceable, from the defined collection point through to handover to the next stage of the value chain.

View Certification

Eine Mitarbeitende sortiert gebrauchte PET-Flaschen in einer Recyclinganlage in Kambodscha. Im Hintergrund sind gepresste Ballen aus Kunststoffmaterialien zu sehen, die für das Recycling vorbereitet wurden.

What the OBP Standard actually means

The Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Standard targets exactly where the plastic problem starts: waste that ends up in the environment and could be carried out to sea. It defines four categories based on where the material is collected:

Potential OBP: plastic waste within 50 km of the coast
Waterway OBP: plastic waste in rivers or on riverbanks
Coastal OBP: plastic waste within 200 m of the coast
Fishing gear: fishing equipment and plastic bycatch

This ensures that only waste genuinely on its way to the ocean gets counted. At everwave, these high standards are simply how we work: we follow the OBP Standard consistently, so our impact lands exactly where it is needed most.

Auditing against OBP makes our Plastic Credits externally checked and transparently provable - for real, documented impact.

Learn more about OBP

More than plastic collection

The Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Standard checks far more than the pure removal of plastic from the environment: compliance with national law and fair, responsible working conditions are also central to the certification.

everwave contracts and partners, internal quality management, the qualification of the staff responsible, and the selection and ongoing monitoring of collection sites are also part of the audit.

Through OBP certification, everwave ensures that plastic collection is not only ecologically effective, but also socially responsible and transparent across the entire value chain.

Mitarbeitende sortieren gesammelte Kunststoffabfälle auf einem Förderband in einer Verwertungsanlage für Ocean Bound Plastic in Kambodscha.

migo - your partner for measurable impact

We collect, process and document plastic waste to Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) standards.

So you stay in control of your impact, we built migo: a central platform for your data. We give you full transparency, so you know exactly where your money goes - traceable, credible and easy to communicate.

migo is more than a platform. It is your partner for measurable impact.

Discover migo now

Mitglieder des everwave Teams stehen vor Säcken mit gesammeltem Abfall nach einer Strandreinigungsaktion in Sihanoukville, Kambodscha. Der gesammelte Müll wird anschließend für Sortierung und weitere Verarbeitung vorbereitet.

Frequently asked questions

1

What is the Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) Standard?

The Ocean Bound Plastic Standard and its certification specifically support projects that remove plastic waste from the environment. They provide a scientifically grounded, transparently verifiable basis for confirming that the waste collected genuinely comes from high-risk zones.

For everwave, that means:

We can transparently document how much plastic we have collected and where it came from.

Our partners get a reliable basis for sustainability reporting, EmpCo-compliant communication and a clear distinction from unverifiable models.

The standard guarantees that our impact lands exactly where the risk of ocean pollution is highest.

Our project sites in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, Cambodia are currently certified to the OBP Standard. We are preparing certification for our sites in Albania, where collection already follows the required parameters.

2

Can a Plastic Credit be sold more than once?

No. In our own software, every Plastic Credit is assigned an individual ID. That unique assignment ensures each Credit is issued only once and cannot be claimed more than once.

3

Are everwave Plastic Credits certified?

everwave certifies its Plastic Credits through the independent Ocean Bound Plastic Standard. Compliance with these standards is checked by the independent international auditor Control Union.

As a certified OBP organization, we are listed on the official Zero Plastic Ocean website: Certified Organizations

Every individual OBP Credit is also made publicly accessible, ensuring full transparency: OBP registrations

4

Where can I find more information on the Ocean Bound Plastic Standard and Zero Plastic Ocean?

You can find more information on the certification on the official website of the auditor, Control Union: Ocean Bound Plastic

And you can find information on Zero Plastic Ocean here: Zero Plastic Ocean