Plastic Tides

What Plastic Tides does

Plastic Tides is a small non-profit organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. Per its firmographic profile, the organization combines adventure and science to address plastic pollution through stand-up paddleboard expeditions, education programming, and outreach activities. The organization operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees and is led by co-founder Gordon Middleton (Co-Founder, President and CFO) and Christian Shaw (Founder and Executive Director).

The organization's core "product" is experiential — paddleboard-based expeditions that double as scientific data collection and public engagement around marine plastic pollution. There is no indication of a traditional product catalog, software platform, or proprietary technology stack in the input data; the technology block is empty, no APIs or integrations are listed, and no AI capabilities are disclosed. The organization's website (plastictides.org) could not be scraped due to a Cloudflare verification page, which is a notable data-access limitation.

As a non-profit, Plastic Tides is most likely funded through donations, grants, and possibly program sponsorships rather than commercial revenue, though no funding rounds, donor disclosures, or financial figures are present in the source data. There are no disclosed customers, partners, corporate sponsors, or membership programs, and the value proposition is mission-driven (plastic pollution mitigation and education) rather than commercially monetized. The organization serves environmental beneficiaries — coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and the broader public engaged in ocean conservation — rather than paying enterprise or consumer customers.

Name

Plastic Tides

Website

https://plastictides.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plastic Tides is a small Santa Cruz-based non-profit founded in 2014 that addresses plastic pollution through stand-up paddleboard expeditions, education, and outreach, serving coastal communities and the broader marine-conservation audience with a lean team of 1-10.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (487210)

akta.pro primary industry

Kayaking, Canoeing & SUP Coastal Tours (THAAAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine Wildlife & Coastal Nature Tours (Whale/Dolphin Watching, Sea Kayaking) (THAAAEAD), Marine Conservation & Citizen-Science Experiences (reef monitoring, turtle walks) (THAAAIAH)

Keywords

• Ocean conservation
• Plastic pollution research
• Environmental education
• Paddleboard expeditions
• Marine debris outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Cruz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Plastic Tides is a non-profit that combines stand-up paddleboard expeditions with science-based plastic pollution research and environmental education. The organization travels waterways to document and remove plastic waste while delivering outreach programming aimed at schools, community groups, and the general public to drive awareness and behavior change around single-use plastics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stand-Up Paddleboard Expeditions Multi-day stand-up paddleboard journeys along rivers and coastlines during which participants document, sample, and remove plastic waste, serving adventure-seeking individuals, conservation-minded volunteers, and media partners.
• Environmental Education Programs Classroom and community presentations and curricula on plastic pollution, single-use plastics, and marine debris, delivered to schools, universities, and community organizations.
• Community Outreach and Awareness Campaigns Public-facing events, screenings, and awareness initiatives that translate expedition findings into messaging for general consumers, civic groups, and partner organizations.

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Direct peers

• 5 Gyres: Non-profit research and education organization focused on plastic pollution in oceans. Directly comparable to Plastic Tides in combining scientific research with public outreach, though 5 Gyres emphasizes larger-scale research voyages rather than SUP-based expeditions.
• Plastic Pollution Coalition: Global alliance of organizations, businesses, and thought leaders working to end plastic pollution. Directly comparable as a peer non-profit in the plastic-pollution advocacy space, though Plastic Pollution Coalition focuses more on policy and systems change than on experiential education.
• Algalita Marine Research Foundation: Long-running non-profit focused on plastic pollution research and education, founded by the skipper of the original 'Plastiki' voyage. Directly comparable in combining marine plastic research with public education, though with a longer history and research-vessel-led model rather than paddleboard expeditions.
• Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii: Hawaii-based non-profit running beach cleanups, education programs, and environmental expeditions around plastic pollution. Closely comparable to Plastic Tides in combining outdoor adventure, education, and volunteer-driven coastal stewardship, though focused on Hawaii rather than California.

Broad incumbents

• Parley for the Oceans: Ocean conservation organization and collaboration network that pairs brands (e.g., Adidas) with material innovations using recovered marine plastic. Comparable in the plastic-pollution space, but operates as a larger, commercially-engaged network rather than a small expedition-based non-profit.
• The Ocean Cleanup: Large-scale ocean plastic cleanup organization deploying engineered systems in rivers and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Comparable mission around ocean plastic, but operates as a high-profile, technology- and donor-funded entity rather than a small experiential-education non-profit.
• Surfrider Foundation: Large, established coastal environmental non-profit focused on beach access, water quality, and plastic pollution. Comparable in mission around ocean plastic and coastal stewardship, but operates at far greater scale with tens of thousands of activists and a much broader programmatic portfolio.
• Ocean Conservancy: Major U.S. ocean advocacy non-profit running the International Coastal Cleanup and policy advocacy on plastic pollution. Comparable in mission and non-profit structure, but operates at national scale with substantially larger staff, budget, and donor base than Plastic Tides.

Emerging players

• Lonely Whale Foundation: Ocean conservation non-profit known for campaigns like 'Stop Sucking' (strawless ocean initiative). Comparable as a mission-driven ocean non-profit focused on plastic-pollution consumer awareness, but with celebrity-driven branding and marketing campaigns rather than outdoor expeditions.

Regional players

• Sea Education Association: Non-profit offering ocean-focused educational voyages and research programs for students and the public. Comparable in combining experiential sailing-based education with marine-science and plastic-pollution research, though primarily New England-based and oriented toward multi-week academic voyages.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plastictides
• Facebookfacebook.com/PlasticTides
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plastic-tides

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plastic Tides