“I’m a root-cause kind of guy,” says Robert Goodwin (GMP 3, 2007), reflecting on a military, government, and civilian career that has taken him from counterdrug operations in Colombia to assisting with the peace process in Sudan to rebuilding the health care system in Iraq. It’s not enough to treat the symptoms, no matter how overwhelming and urgent, Goodwin believes. You must address the underlying problems.

Nowhere was this more evident to Goodwin than in Haiti, where he went after the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake. The experience would eventually lead him to cofound OceanCycle, a supply chain and certification company, to address the plastic pollution he saw in Haiti and other communities around the world.

Goodwin had originally traveled to Haiti under the auspices of Executives Without Borders, which he helped launch with fellow Executive Education alumni. The organization was designed to provide business expertise to places in need; Goodwin brought his emergency-response experience to provide safe water systems and support medical programs. Months later, he was alarmed by a cholera outbreak rapidly spreading across the country.

From his prior work, he knew that cholera was a waterborne disease, so he went looking for the root cause and found a canal system gridlocked with plastic garbage. Much of the plastic he found in the canals and on the beaches was recyclable, so he spent the next four years scaling a recycling program for Haiti. The program created more than 1,500 jobs and became a movement the locals nicknamed ramase lajan (“picking up money” in Haitian Creole), as they came to see plastic as a resource instead of garbage.

Not surprisingly, Goodwin learned that demand from brands and companies for recycled materials incentivized collection: “If we clean up a beach, and no one is going to buy that plastic, the beach will just get dirty again.” Later, Goodwin would learn how bad the problem is, with 11 million tons of plastic garbage entering the ocean each year. Over 80 percent of plastic in the ocean starts on land, breaking into small pieces in the water and becoming contaminated by toxins and microorganisms. In this state, it’s difficult or impossible to recycle.

Established in 2017, OceanCycle replicates the model in Haiti to stop plastic from getting into the water in the first place. Indonesia, Thailand, Honduras, and the Philippines are a few countries where they operate, ensuring chain of custody of materials and ethical collection, with no child or forced labor.

OceanCycle has worked with Patagonia, Herman Miller, and Dell Computer to make products out of the collected material; its programs to date have prevented more than 1 billion bottles from entering the oceans and generated over $5 million for coastal communities. While OceanCycle’s work continues, Goodwin is now raising money to support PHA Solutions, a company focused on replacing single-use plastics with a biopolymer called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) made from used vegetable oil and sugars. The polymer can be used to replace plastic, is fully home compostable, and doesn’t create microplastics when it breaks down.

Goodwin is proud of OceanCycle’s contribution but knows the issue is too big for one company to tackle. “I am not the hero of this story,” he says. “My heroes are the waste pickers, the brands and consumers making better choices, and the companies working on alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. I am simply a guide to help inform people so they can become the heroes of their own stories.”

How to: Reduce Your Plastic Impact

Be picky about packaging.
Think about the ingredients in packaging the same way you think about ingredients in your food, Goodwin advises. Choosing recycled plastic is better. If you do choose virgin plastic, look for rigid types that retain their value and can be recycled. Avoid using multilayer packaging and items designed for single use as they will likely never be recycled.

Don’t be fooled by labels.
Many items listed as compostable break down only in special industrial facilities and can take 90 to 120 days to do so. If your company or university is switching from plastic, make sure the waste is properly composted; otherwise, the material is no better than current products.

Get involved now.
People at the height of their careers, who control budgets, manage people, and shape company policy, can drive change and direct resources in a way that marries profit and purpose, Goodwin says.

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