The World’s Largest Ocean Cleanup Has Started

It is no secret that our oceans are filled with plastic pollution. According to Ocean Crusaders, it is believed that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. On average 100,000 […]

It is no secret that our oceans are filled with plastic pollution. According to Ocean Crusaders, it is believed that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. On average 100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement and these are the ones found and approximately 1 million sea birds also die from plastic. This is a world wide problem.

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization, developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They have come up with a way to potentially dramatically clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. According to The Ocean Cleanup, one area where plastic has accumulated called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest in the world, measuring twice the size of Texas or 1.6 million square kilometers. At the time scientists did a sample, they found that there were more than 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the patch that weighed around 80,000 tons.

The Ocean Cleanup has developed a passive system, using the natural oceanic forces to catch and concentrate the plastic. Both the plastic and system are being carried by the current.However, wind and waves propel only the system, as the floater sits just above the water surface, while the plastic is primarily just beneath it. The system thus moves faster than the plastic, allowing the plastic to be captured.

Their models indicate that a full-scale system roll-out could clean up 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years. Research shows the majority of plastic by mass is currently in the larger debris. By removing the plastic while most of it is still large, we prevent it from breaking down into dangerous microplastics. To avoid fish getting trapped in the passive system, the netting is only ten feet deep – allowing sea creatures to swim underneath the system. Up to 50% in 5 years! That can have a huge impact on the ecosystem in that region allowing it to revamp itself.

We’re excited to see this project develop and we wish the Ocean Cleanup team all the success!

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