Since 2015, we've been following the story of Boyan Slat, a young inventor who set out to fight against the world's plastic pollution problem. At only 20 years old, he developed an invention aimed at tackling the world's largest patch of garbage, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
This vortex of trash, located between California and Hawaii, covers 600,000 square miles of ocean and is responsible for countless animal deaths. After years of testing and research, Slat's foundation The Ocean Cleanup is finally ready to launch the system and begin the Pacific cleanup. The invention consists of a nearly 2,000-foot-long tube that floats on the water. This has a 10-foot tapered skirt attached to it that stops debris from escaping.
Currents in the water carry the system along naturally, and as the tube curves, it accumulates garbage in the center for easy removal. This means that every few months, a vessel can go to retrieve the trash and bring it to land for sorting and recycling. This simple idea has proved effective in testing and now that the system passed its last tests for seaworthiness, it's ready to take on its big mission.
On September 8, the system will be launch from The Ocean Cleanup assembly yard and move through the San Francisco Bay toward the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Once launched, it should take about 3.5 hours to enter the Pacific Ocean, at which point its final destination will be about 1,000 nautical miles away.
The day is a pivotal moment for Slat and his team, which went through almost 300 scale models, comprehensive mapping of the Garbage Patch, and several technology iterations to bring the system to fruition. With the launch nearly here, they can then focus on the next goal, which is cleaning up half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years.
Want to watch the momentous occasion? The Ocean Cleanup is live streaming the system launch on its website starting at 12pm PDT / 3 pm EDT / 9 pm CEST on September 8, 2018.
Located between California and Hawaii, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a vortex of trash that kills a substantial amount of wildlife.
Learn more about how The Ocean Cleanup's system will tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
After years of testing, the full system is being assembled for launch on September 8, 2018.
A post shared by The Ocean Cleanup (@theoceancleanup) on Aug 26, 2018 at 11:08am PDT
People can tune in and watch as the cleaning system moves into the Pacific Ocean.
And to think, just three years ago this was only the dream of a 20 year old interested in cleaning up the planet.
The Ocean Cleanup: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
All images via The Ocean Cleanup except where noted.
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throwing12349 on September 3rd, 2018 at 02:33 UTC »
This is cool and all, but wouldn't it be prudent to get countries to stop dumping stuff into the ocean first, namely China and India. Don't they account for 80%+ of all the garbage dumped into the ocean? This is sort of like getting towels to clean up a spill before you pick the bottle up.
Quiet_Representative on September 3rd, 2018 at 02:31 UTC »
Seriously, it's about time for something like this. However, they will find it fills up much faster than anticipated.
TimskiTimski on September 3rd, 2018 at 01:22 UTC »
Thank God for people like these.