You may have read our previous article on the Ocean Cleanup or seen another similar article – but now the Ocean Cleanup project has officially launched. Boyan Slat, the young Dutch creator launched this innovative project this weekend and whole world was watching!
What is the Ocean Cleanup project?
In case you’ve missed it, we will give you a quick lowdown on what this project is and what it means for the world’s oceans. The Ocean Cleanup is a not-for-profit project that aims to ‘rid the world of plastic.’ How? By creating a 600-meter-long floater, that sits on the surface on the water, along with a tapered 3-metered-deep skirt which is attached underneath it. The floater stops plastic flowing over it and the skirt stops plastic from flowing under it – this way all plastic flowing through it can be collected. By using this system, they are estimating that 50% of the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ will be cleaned up within 5 years. This collected plastic will then be recycled and sold on. The profits for this will then create more funding for other cleanups.
Source: CNBC
This impressive set up was launched on Saturday in San Francisco, so it’s just a matter of time before we will be able to measure how well the Ocean Cleanup is performing.
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments!
Cover photo source: www.theoceancleanup.com