Clearing The Great Pacific Garbage Patch | The Ocean Cleanup

Our world’s oceans are being flooded with trash. According to research by the World Economic Forum, 90% of the 80,000,000KG of trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from only 10 rivers.

Boyan Slatt, a young entrepreneur from the Netherlands started “The Ocean Cleanup '', an ambitious non-profit with the goal of eradicating our rivers and oceans of non-degradable plastic. They believe that the waste still has value and that it should be put to use by being recycled and reintroduced into the production of new goods.

This Dutch Startup plans on tackling the 80% of plastics reaching the ocean, coming from only 1,000 rivers. To hit their target, some high-tech machinery was needed, so the Ocean Cleanup invented the river interceptor. This unit is incredibly effective at clearing waste from rivers, however, they wanted to set their sights higher, clearing the largest accumulation zone of plastic on the planet - the great pacific garbage patch.

Over the past year, The Ocean Cleanup has been testing their ocean garbage extraction method 002, named JENNY. It works by driving 2 Maersk ships in tandem, towing a 300m floating barrier between. The barrier is held up by massive floats on top, ensuring no garbage can escape from above. The net portion measures 3 meters deep, with an opening on the bottom allowing trapped fish to evade capture. The ships move at 1.5 knots and come together once a week to empty the retention zone and organize the materials onboard one of the Maersk vessels. Once organized and packaged, the materials can be sent to their corresponding recycling facilities and made into new, sustainable goods!

In mid-October, 2021, Boyan Slatt’s 12-week test campaign was deemed successful, achieving proof of technology. From nine test extractions, 28,659 kilograms (63,182 pounds) of plastic were removed from the ocean - with 9000 retrieved from a single haul.

Moving forward, The ocean cleanup plans on running their series 002 JENNY, until they launch the system’s sequel, the 003. At a length of 2.5km, system 003 is expected to be 3x larger than its predecessor. The next phase involves scaling the project, with the objective of getting 10 Jennys operational as soon as possible.

We wish The Ocean Cleanup success moving forward, taking on this insurmountable task!

#theoceancleanup #teamseas #greatpacificgarbagepatch