The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup

Formation	2013 Delft, Netherlands
Type	Stichting
Purpose	Cleaning the oceans
Headquarters	Delft, Netherlands
CEO	Boyan Slat
Staff	25+[1]
Volunteers	100+[1]
Website	www.theoceancleanup.com

The Ocean Cleanup is a foundation that develops technologies to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and prevent more plastic debris from entering ocean waters. The organization was founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, a Dutch inventor-entrepreneur. The Ocean Cleanup has received over $2.2 million in crowdfunding^[2] and financial contributions from large sponsors including Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff.^[3] The foundation’s headquarters are in the city of Delft, the Netherlands.

Technology

The removal of plastic debris on the open seas is still in its infancy. Some initiatives, such as Project Kaisei, have used ships with nets to catch plastics, primarily for research purposes. The Ocean Cleanup proposes a larger-scale, passive method of removing marine debris in or near the ocean gyres by means of 100-kilometre (62 mi) long networks of floating barriers, anchored to the ocean floor. These V-shaped barrier networks are designed to interact with natural ocean currents, funneling plastic debris towards a central point where the plastic can be extracted by a platform and stored for transportation and recycling.^[4] The Ocean Cleanup calls this barrier technology the Ocean Cleanup Array.^[5]

Notable projects

Mega Expedition

Through a series of oceanic expeditions, The Ocean Cleanup is researching the mass and distribution of plastic debris in the oceans, and methods of recycling ocean plastic. In August 2015, The Ocean Cleanup conducted the Mega Expedition, in which a fleet of approximately 30 vessels crossed the Great Pacific garbage patch using manta trawls and carrying out aerial surveys to measure the concentration, spatial distribution and size distribution of plastic. Researchers aboard mothership R/V Ocean Starr reported sighting much more large-sized ocean debris than expected.^[6] According to The Ocean Cleanup website, this expedition was conducted in preparation for a large-scale cleanup of the Great Pacific garbage patch, which it intends to start in 2020.^[7]

Pilot Program

In a series of pilot tests, successive scale model deployments of increasing sizes will be installed in increasingly challenging oceanic locations. The plans include a coastal pilot to be started in 2016 using a 2,000-metre (6,600 ft) scale model cleanup array in the Tsushima Strait, off the Japanese coast.^[8] According to CEO Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup is currently performing controlled environment tests.^[9]

Ocean Clean up Survey Mobile Application

The Ocean Cleanup launched an iOS and Android application in the later half of 2015. Through the Visual Survey app, anyone on a boat on the ocean can help contribute data. Start a survey, look at the ocean for 30 minutes (we'll keep an eye on the time for you) and log the debris you see in the app. The Ocean Cleanup will use the data to make important decisions. The data will also be open for other scientists to use. The Visual Survey app replaces the paper forms that were previously used for this purpose.

Awards and recognition

The Ocean Cleanup and its CEO/founder Boyan Slat have won numerous distinctions. The United Nations Environment Programme awarded Slat with the Champion of the Earth 2014,^[10] who was previously recognized as one of the 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide by Intel EYE50.^[11] In 2015, Harald V of Norway awarded Slat the maritime industry's Young Entrepreneur Award and The Ocean Cleanup Array was named as a London Design Museum Design of the Year.^[12][13] The Ocean Cleanup Array won the INDEX: Award 2015^[14][15] and was also the winner of the 2015 Fast Company Innovation By Design Awards in the category Social Good.^[16] Foreign Policy recognized Boyan Slat as one of the 100 Global Thinkers of 2015.^[17]

References