With ever so increasing plastic waste around the world, ever thought you could eliminate it by just plain browsing?
Well it is possible now with the help of OceanHero which serves as a search engine. OceanHero is on a mission to clean oceans by using its search engine-generated profits.
OceanHero uses Google Chrome extension which makes it a lot easier for users to access. Recently, this search engine has launched a new marketing campaign to get more users.
OceanHero is a totally free search engine like Google and Bing. The main way this search engine earns money is when advertisers pay to display their own listings below and above the organic ones.
This does not require any cost for the user. It has the same cost-per-click structure like any other search engine. So when a user clicks an ad, the business that displayed it gets charged.
The only difference is that OceanHero spends its revenue on environmental causes like cleaning the ocean. Other than the website, OceanHero also generates revenue through donations and funding.
Is OceanHero Safe To Use?
Now with Google and Bing you know that your search history is safe and it is a safe medium. Just like the other search engines OceanHero uses SSL for data encryption. It is very similar to Bing, how it uses your data like for sending notification and for location.
Your data here is being used more to personalize your ad experience. You get better suited ads on your feed according to your data here just like Google.
So you browse the web like you do everyday and clean the ocean along the way. This non-profit organization claims that for every 100 shells in the ocean they collect one bottle. According to research there would be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.
The head office of OceanHero is in Berlin but the networking here happens all around the world like US, Germany, Poland, South Africa, UK, Indonesia, and Ukraine.
How Does It Work?
In collaboration with Trash Waste Solution to collect ocean plastic waste and turn it into brick in Indonesia. The pilot project of this non-profit started in Indonesia where you can find massive plastic dumps.
The micro recycling plants there turn the plastic waste into bricks so that not only plastic waste is being reduced but also being reused.
OceanHero also partners with Plastic Bank which has 32 branches in Haiti. Plastic Bank also provides job opportunities to the under-developed communities through plastic waste collection. The plastic is then recycled and turned into reusable products.
Marvin Burman, the founder of OceanHero describes this venture as a fun experience for people through which they could prevent 10 million of plastic waste that enters oceans every year.
Is It A Scam?
The process of contributing your share to save the planet here is pretty simple at OceanHero. You browse and click on the relevant ads you like and with the profit, plastic waste gets collected from the ocean. It uses the same algorithm as another search engine.
The main concern that would arise is the safety of your data. The data is encrypted and you always get the option of saving or not saving sensitive information.
OceanHero does not collect the plastic waste on its own as it has a partnership with Plastic Bank. It does run some volunteer campaigns from time to time that does work in most parts of the world.
So to answer the question if it is a scam? No, OceanHero is not a scam.
There are almost no reviews about the website claiming that it has been not spending the revenues properly or not.
Once you start browsing on the search engine, you’ll see that it also engages you with interesting facts and knowledge about marine life. You can add your friends to your account and make the online community bigger.
A few links pop up whenever you go to a new tab and by clicking on those links the company gets paid a small share of the whole revenue. You can also contribute to the movement by sharing any ideas within the online community at OceanHero.
Plastic waste around the world is increasing every day. Plastic production each year grows by 3 percent. This makes the plastic waste way too much than the production percentage as the recycling process is not monitored properly.
To protect marine life and our oceans, something as simple as browsing a non-profit search engine can lead to a bigger change. All you have to do is log in to your OceanHero account and get to browsing. With clicking on your favorite ad links you get to be an OceanHero every time plastic waste gets taken out from the ocean.