During the week-long journey from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch back to port, the trash gets sorted on the ship, and the nonprofit recycles as much material as possible.

The nonprofit then works with partners worldwide to ensure that the products made with the recycled plastic are not ones that will end up back in oceans or rivers, Tobin said, adding that one of those partnerships is with a Korean car manufacturer that uses the plastics in the construction of electric vehicles.

“We just want to make sure it doesn’t end up back where we found it,” Tobin said.