Oceans Plastic Free in Years instead of Millennia: Is This Possible?

We are polluting the oceans more and more with plastics waste. Waste that kills animals such like birds and fish. Waste that we get onto our dinner plates when we eat. Everyday more plastics are deposited into our oceans.

      Can we stop this trend ?

      Can we clean it up ?

      The Ocean Cleanup Foundation thinks it can !!

In 2013 the Ocean Cleanup foundation was established by Boyan Slat to find a solution to clean up our ocean waters, to remove all the plastic material, from the large pieces till the very small pieces, not bigger than a dime (and even smaller).

There are 5 major plastic accumulation zones in the world where ocean  currents converge. These accumulation zones are commonly called "garbage  patches". The vast majority of ocean plastic will not go away by itself  but instead slowly break down into microplastics. After a year of  experimenting with ideas and simple tests, Boyan came up with the idea  to develop a passive concentration system. He envisioned to use the  ocean currents to his advantage, and let them be the driving force  behind catching and concentrating the plastic. Instead of going after  the plastic, you could let the plastic come to you.

Starting with a budget of 300 Euro, and a lot of energy and persistence, Boyan brought his initial ideas to reality. From an extensive feasibility study, followed by simulation studies, the design of the cleanup system, small scale tests, thorough analyses and mapping of the plastic patches in our oceans; The Foundation announced yesterday it was able to raise 21.7 M$ in funds. Now large scale tests of its passive plastic capturing technology can start.

The Pacific Ocean, plagued by the Texas-sized Great Pacific Garbage Patch, desperately needs to be cleaned up. The Ocean Cleanup is ready to tackle the problem with their plastic gathering technology tested in the North Sea thanks to new funding amounting to $21.7 million. Investors include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne Benioff and entrepreneur Peter Thiel. 

Founder and CEO Boyan Slat said in a statement, “Our mission is to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, and this support is a major leap forward towards achieving this goal. Thanks to the generous support of these funders, the day we’ll be returning that first batch of plastic to shore is now in sight.”

The Ocean Cleanup’s technology could reduce the theoretical cleanup time of plastic in the Pacific Ocean from millennia down to years. It is expected that at least half of the plastic out in the oceans can be collected in just 10 years.

Fish for dinner?...

The Ocean Cleanup: How it Began...

The Ocean Cleanup: How they Roll...

This Thursday May 11th, The Ocean Cleanup foundation will further announce their plans.

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sources

• http://inhabitat.com/the-ocean-cleanup-raises-21-7-million-to-begin-ridding-the-pacific-ocean-of-trash/
• https://www.theoceancleanup.com/
• https://thefisheriesblog.com/2015/07/26/plankton-or-plastic/

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video sources [1][2]

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