Boyan Slat first had the idea of cleaning up the world’s oceans after diving off the coast of Greece in 2011 and experiencing the magnitude of our plastic pollution problem. Always having a love of inventing things, he decided to see if he could help solve this global problem.
Back in 2013, Slat dedicated his time to start The Ocean Cleanup. He hopes to someday remove 90% of the ocean’s plastic pollution. The Ocean Cleanup debuted System 001 on September 8th, 2018, but they have had to re-engineer and redesign many things to deal with the harsh weather conditions in the ocean. They had to return System 001 on January 19, 2019, due to a fatigue fracture caused a section to detach and it could not end up retaining the collected plastic.
On June 18th, 2019 the team deployed System 001/B. With this version, they were able to test multiple new design changes, including speeding up the system with buoys and being able to slow it down with a parachute sea anchor.
A few days ago, December 12th, 2019 The Ocean Cleanup, successfully brought ocean pollution back from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Slat commented on the team’s success:
Welcoming the first catch of plastic on land is the moment we have been looking forward to for years. I believe we can use this trash to turn a problem into a solution by transforming this unique material into a beautiful product. As most people will never go to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, through these products, we aim to give everyone the opportunity to take part in the cleanup.
Into the Future
The team has begun preparing for System 002, which they want to be a full-scale, fully operational system. Slat knows there will be technical challenges to overcome, such as making a system with the strength to withstand the ocean.
Slat has plans to produce 100% recycled products from plastic collected directly from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The money they make will all go back into funding both current and future projects to clean the ocean. “These are not going to be gimmicks,” he said. “These are going to be products that you actually want.”
The challenge is taking ocean plastic that has undergone years in harsh ocean conditions and turning it into a sellable product. They have plans on what to produce but are not sharing these ideas just yet. For that, we will have to wait until next year. Slat hopes to begin selling the ocean products around September of 2020 if all goes well.
They have also created Interceptor, which is a conveyor belt system that collects trash from rivers before it reaches the ocean. Through research, they have discovered which rivers 80% of the plastic and trash enters the ocean. They will be placing more Interceptor systems around the world to help clean our waters.
Pairing the Ocean Cleanup systems with the company’s new Interceptor machines is an amazing strategy for helping to clean up the plastic waste that plagues this planet.
