Scalable river plastic solution:

Moored to the river bed, this device uses the current to snatch up surface debris and move it onto a conveyor belt, ending up in large dustbins.

This is in order to prevent the plastic from ending up in the ocean further down the line.

They get their power from solar panels and run autonomously 24 / 7

1000 rivers are responsible for 80% of the plastic going into the ocean. The mission is to have these autonomous river plastic interceptors deployed in those rivers, preventing huge influxes of plastic from reaching the Ocean in a continuous effort to keep our oceans healthy.

So far TheOceanCleanup has intercepted 250,000 football fields worth of river surface plastic from entering the ocean with these devices.

The plastic caught by this company is turned into pellets, and can be used to make plastic products. One product has already been made by the ocean cleanup: sunglasses. This was in order to demonstrate the recycled plastics capability to create high value products, and fundraise for their even bigger project… cleaning up the great pacific garbage patch.

Yes you heard that right.

That is the upcoming goal of CEO Boyan Slat

Check out this video explaining the ocean and river cleaup projects

Here is how they aim to do it:

Their strategy is implementing a large barrier pulled by two boats, made specifically to avoid the capture of wildlife, this solution removes plastic effectively form the ocean. It captures small pieces of plastic only millimetres in size, up to large debris such as discarded fishing nets.

This video explains the complexities of how the barrier works

Future plans

Modelling revealed that with 10 full-size systems, this solution could "clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch".

After fleets of systems are deployed into every ocean gyre, combined with source reduction, The Ocean Cleanup projects to be able to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040.”

CEO Boyan Slat

Copyright - TheOceanCleanup