The world’s oceans, with their vast expanses and endless ecosystems, are the well of life for our planet. Without them, the Earth cannot live.

Yet many still turn a blind eye to the unconscionable amounts of plastic and other waste materials contaminating these waters. An enormous portion of these contaminants originate from human wastewater, also known as sewage. Because many ocean pollutants are released out of view by coastal beachgoers, the problem goes almost unnoticed by the general public.

But surfers like myself have become sadly familiar with these contaminants. We know firsthand just how valuable pristine waters are not only for our surfing hobby, but to the environment, economy, and our health and well-being.

Ari Goldfarb founded Kando, a company dedicated to understanding what’s in our water and using data-driven insights to improve the quality of people’s lives.

80% of sewage seeps into the environment untreated – a staggering amount. Even when sewage does cycle through a wastewater treatment facility, contaminated water can still be prematurely discharged out to sea due to a variety of factors such as aging infrastructure, facility malfunctions, and heavy rains that trigger sewer overflows.

Typical sewage contains dozens of harmful components which combine to degrade natural ecosystems and compromise the health of bathers who unintentionally swallow seawater.

"Surfing gave me an intrinsic appreciation for the sea near my house and for the rest of the world’s oceans – where untreated wastewater had no business being. And as such, I understood just how impactful it could be to harness the power of technology to map its flow and create effective countermeasures to our polluting ways."