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Boyan Slat’s “The Ocean Cleanup” Successfully Collects Plastic For First Time

25-year-old Dutch inventor Boyan Slat announced The Ocean Cleanup – after several setbacks – has successfully captured plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

THE OCEAN CLEANUP SUCCESSFULLY CATCHING PLASTIC IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH

On Wednesday, The Ocean Cleanup announced that System 001/B is successfully capturing and collecting plastic debris. After one year of testing, they have succeeded in developing a self-contained system in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that is using the natural forces of the ocean to passively catch and concentrate plastic, thereby confirming the most important principle behind the cleanup concept that was first presented by Boyan Slat at a TEDx conference in October 2012.

The Ocean Cleanup's U-shaped plastic-catching system is engineered to passively collect trash from the garbage patch using the ocean's current. It essentially creates a coastline in deep water.

The Ocean Cleanup built a giant arm that catches plastic The Ocean Cleanup’s U-shaped plastic-catching system is engineered to passively collect trash from the garbage patch using the ocean’s current. It essentially creates a coastline in deep water. Source: TheOceanCleanup

THE OCEAN CLEANUP SUCCESSFULLY CATCHING PLASTIC IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH

Six years ago, young Dutch inventor Boyan Slat began developing a system to rid the worlds oceans of harmful plastic. In 2013, the entrepreneur founded The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit that aims to remove plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a trashed-filled vortex in the ocean that’s more than double the size of Texas. 

The group designed a device that passively collects plastic in its fold like a giant arm. However, the system has encountered several setbacks, including a design and manufacturing flaw that caused the plastic to spill back into the ocean. More recently, plastic began flowing over the top of a cork line that helps stabilise the system.

But on 2nd October 2019, The Ocean Cleanup announced that it had fixed that problem and that the device is now capturing and retaining plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

So far, the team has collected large fishing nets, plastic objects such as cartons and crates, and microplastics as small as 1mm in length, it said.

The system’s ability to trap microplastics actually came as a surprise, the organisation said in a press release. The Ocean Cleanup’s previous research had suggested that microplastics rain down like ash toward the ocean floor and so should be less likely to stay floating close to the surface.

Because of that, the organisation has focused on removing larger pieces of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Laurent Lebreton, one of the organisation’s researchers, previously told Business Insider that a lot of the debris that the device was catching “is really weathered and broken down, and some of it looks really old.”

He added: “We don’t really find any plastic bags or straws, but we find really thick, hard plastic fragments.”

The team has now demonstrated that the device can retain various types of plastic, thanks to a knew parachute system that debuted in June. 

Source: BusinessInsider

The pipe is connected to a screen that extends about 10 feet (3 metres) below the surface and is responsible for catching plastic debris. In the first version of the device, the screen was attached to the bottom of the pipe like a skirt.

The most visible portion of the device is a 2,000-foot (600 metre) pipe made of high-density polyethylene plastic. The pipe is connected to a screen that extends about 10 feet (3 metres) below the surface and is responsible for catching plastic debris. In the first version of the device, the screen was attached to the bottom of the pipe like a skirt. Source: TheOceanCleanup

NEW DESIGN LEADS TO IMPROVED PERFORMANCE The aim of System 001/B was to trial modifications, which addressed known complications, primarily aimed at correcting the inconsistent speed difference between the system and the plastic. Consistency was achieved by slowing down the system with a parachute sea anchor, allowing for faster-moving plastic debris to float into the system.

Setback I – the plastic and the barrier move at same speed. NEW DESIGN LEADS TO IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
The aim of System 001/B was to trial modifications, which addressed known complications, primarily aimed at correcting the inconsistent speed difference between the system and the plastic. Consistency was achieved by slowing down the system with a parachute sea anchor, allowing for faster-moving plastic debris to float into the system. Source: The Ocean Cleanup

Once the speed issue was resolved, prominent plastic overtopping was observed – becoming the next technical challenge to solve. Due to the modularity of System 001/B, a modification to increase the size of the cork line was designed and implemented while the system was offshore. With the new cork line, minimal overtopping is now being observed, thus allowing the system to capture and concentrate the plastic.

Setback II – Overtopping Once the speed issue was resolved, prominent plastic overtopping was observed – becoming the next technical challenge to solve. Due to the modularity of System 001/B, a modification to increase the size of the cork line was designed and implemented while the system was offshore. With the new cork line, minimal overtopping is now being observed, thus allowing the system to capture and concentrate the plastic. Source: The Ocean Cleanup

Once it was set up in the Pacific Garbage Patch, researchers did a series of tests.They wanted to know whether the device had to travel at a consistent speed – either faster or slower than the plastic in the water. So they tried a parachute anchor that decelerated the system, and they experimented with turning the device in the opposite direction and attaching inflatable bags to tow it faster than the plastic.

In June, The Ocean Cleanup launched a new version of the device, known as System 001/B. Once it was set up in the Pacific Garbage Patch, researchers did a series of tests.They wanted to know whether the device had to travel at a consistent speed – either faster or slower than the plastic in the water. So they tried a parachute anchor that decelerated the system, and they experimented with turning the device in the opposite direction and attaching inflatable bags to tow it faster than the plastic. Source: TheOceanCleanup

The Ocean Cleanup's previous research had suggested that microplastics rain down like ash toward the ocean floor and so should be less likely to stay floating close to the surface. Because of that, the organisation has focused on removing larger pieces of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The system’s ability to trap microplastics came as a surprise, the organisation said in a press release. The Ocean Cleanup’s previous research had suggested that microplastics rain down like ash toward the ocean floor and so should be less likely to stay floating close to the surface. Because of that, the organisation has focused on removing larger pieces of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Source: The OceanCleanup
something the existing model isn't designed to do. In particular, the organisation wants to make sure the device can hold up in harsh winter weather.
One of the hurdles facing Slat is demonstrating that the system can retain plastic for more than a year – something the existing model isn’t designed to do. In particular, the organisation wants to make sure the device can hold up in harsh winter weather. Source: TheOceanCleanup
The group thinks a ship could visit the garbage patch every few months and tow the debris that the array catches to shore. But right now, The Ocean Cleanup's staff removes the plastic the device catches from the water by hand, using nets.
Slat said the organisation hopes to construct a fleet of these plastic-cleaning devices. The group thinks a ship could visit the garbage patch every few months and tow the debris that the array catches to shore. But right now, The Ocean Cleanup’s staff removes the plastic the device catches from the water by hand, using nets. Source: TheOceanCleanup
So to achieve its ultimate goal of capturing up to 15,000 tons of plastic per year, the organisation would have to consider more advanced ways to transfer plastic to a ship.
The Ocean Cleanup’s staff removes the plastic the device catches from the water by hand, using nets. So to achieve its ultimate goal of capturing up to 15,000 tons of plastic per year, the organisation would have to consider more advanced ways to transfer plastic to a ship. Source: TheOceanCleanup
For now, though, he stays on land, since he tends to get seasick.
Once the system is scaled up, Slat said, he’ll likely visit the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to observe it in action. For now, though, he stays on land, since he tends to get seasick. “I’d like to go at some point, but only once the whole fleet is out there,” he said. “I think it will be kind of epic to see.” Source: TheOceanCleanup
The organisation plans to build a fleet of plastic-cleaning arrays. Slat told Business Insider in September that he planned to build a larger version of the system next year that could capture more plastic, though his team was still trying to determine what the precise size should be. For now, he said in the press conference,
“This now gives us sufficient confidence in the general concept,” Slat said in a press conference. The organisation plans to build a fleet of plastic-cleaning arrays. Slat told Business Insider in September that he planned to build a larger version of the system next year that could capture more plastic, though his team was still trying to determine what the precise size should be. For now, he said in the press conference, “there are still quite a few hurdles ahead of us before we are actually ready to scale.” Source: TheOceanCleanup
But the new design still wasn't quite right: In August, the group's researchers found that plastic was spilling over the cork line, which sat about 10 centimeters (4 inches) above the water. So they built a much taller cork line to prevent this
The parachute anchor proved to be the “winning concept,” Slat wrote on his blog. But the new design still wasn’t quite right: In August, the group’s researchers found that plastic was spilling over the cork line, which sat about 10 centimeters (4 inches) above the water. So they built a much taller cork line to prevent this “overtopping.” Source: TheOceanCleanup
Despite early snags, the project seems to be working.
The Ocean Cleanup designed a device that passively collects plastic in its fold like a giant arm. Despite early snags, the project seems to be working. Source: TheOceanCleanup

Not everyone is so enthusiastic about the project’s progress but Slat answers back

On January 22, an opinion piece was published in The Atlantic, originally titled “The Ocean Cleanup Project Could Destroy the Neuston” in which Rebecca Rae Helm, Assistant Professor specialising in the evolution and development of jellyfish at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, warned of the potential risk to this delicate ecosystem living at the ocean’s surface.

Dr. Helm also tweeted her concerns, along with one of The Ocean Cleanup’s own photographs (below), which she edited to highlight what she says are numerous of these creatures captured alongside the plastic trash.

The Ocean Cleanup soon responded, with CEO and Founder Boyan Slat writing a lengthy and detailed reply addressing all of Dr. Helm’s concerns directly.

 

“Earlier this year I warned that ‪@TheOceanCleanup‬ would catch and kill floating marine life. This week they announced they're collecting plastic, and their picture shows HUNDREDS of floating animals trapped with plastic (red circles). We need to talk about this.”

Dr. Helm’s tweet in which she alleges Neuston are trapped alongside the plastic “Earlier this year I warned that ‪@TheOceanCleanup‬ would catch and kill floating marine life. This week they announced they’re collecting plastic, and their picture shows HUNDREDS of floating animals trapped with plastic (red circles). We need to talk about this.” Source: Twitter/RebeccaRHelm

The Ocean Cleanup’s young genius just got one step closer to ridding her oceans of plastic “The ocean cleanup has now succeeded in developing a self-contained system using the natural forces of the ocean to passively catch and concentrate plastic.“-Boyan Slat Source: Facebook/BrightVibes

Press Announcement The Ocean Cleanup, 2nd October 2019 You can watch the full press conference here, including a press Q&A. Source: Youtube – The Ocean Cleanup
14 Bits Of Plastic You Can Easily Quit Today From teabags to toothpaste tubes, the menace of plastic is everywhere, but there are more ecological options out there. Check out these 14 cleaner, greener alternatives to plastic. Source: Facebook BrightVibes
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The Ocean Cleanup is now looking to bridge the funding from System 001 to scale-up. With your help, they can continue their research, improve the system and accelerate the largest cleanup in history.