The Ocean Cleanup begins “the greatest cleanup in history” to end plastic in the planet’s waters
Ending 90% of the plastic in the seas by 2040 is the goal of the non-governmental organization The Ocean Cleanup.
October 8th, 2021: the final test extraction of System 002, and the moment we knew that cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is possible. pic.twitter.com/79e1SiNz4h
— The Ocean Cleanup (@TheOceanCleanup) October 11, 2021
Created in 2013, its commitment is to implement systems for sweeping and collecting floating waste from the planet’s oceans.
The organization has the support of governments, companies and individuals, has managed to create System 002, an ocean cleaning machine, capable of collecting around 350 tons of plastic per year.
The Ocean Cleanup have proposed to end the island of garbage in the Pacific, an area full of floating plastic that, due to the currents, ended up joining and forming an island of plastic.
BREAKING: the final test of System 002 is completed, and we have another big catch on deck. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch can now be cleaned.
The crew is already sorting the catch, and lots of information is still to be processed. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/CR8R7Xf6ur
— The Ocean Cleanup (@TheOceanCleanup) October 9, 2021
Through System 002, they are going to clean up the great “plastic island of the Pacific”.
The organization could sweep the area equivalent to a football field every 15 seconds. The main objective of System 002 is the collection of plastics greater than 10 millimeters, although The Ocean Cleanup also has machines for the collection of waste of up to one millimeter.
The sweeping technique that the company has implemented is designed not to cause any impact on marine ecosystems, although they recognize the risks involved in the collection system. “Our goal is to collect as much plastic as possible to limit its negative impact on ecosystems and protect the oceans. It is clear that, as in any operation of this type, there are always some risks and we have to make sure to limit the negative effects well. “.
However, the founder and director of the NGO, Boyan Slat, assured in July of this year that the negative impact is less than the positive aspects of the cleaning in the long term. “We have seen that there is a very low risk when cleaning. What is clear is that ecosystems can always be affected, but studies and reality show that in the long run, over the years, over the decades, these collections have a positive effect on marine life “, he assured in the presentation of System 002.
