Introducing The Next Phase
The story of a beautifully simple solution to solve a huge and ugly problem
Written by Stefan Pangratz
Design Director at VBAT
When 17.6 tons of plastic, accounting for only 1.98 seconds of the yearly global production of plastic are found on the beaches of one of the most remote Islands in the world, I would say we have a huge problem. A very ugly and global problem. The name of the Island, Henderson, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. (Source: National Academy of Science). The Island of course is just the tip of the imaginative iceberg of plastic waste, which is polluting the World’s Oceans.
22 Years old Boyan Slat started just 6 years ago with a great adventure to clean up the Oceans from plastic debris by founding The Ocean Clean Up initiative. They’ve presented the next phase of the project just a couple of weeks ago, promising to have the first working clean up stations in the great pacific basin by the end of next year.
It’s an unbelievably compelling story, and chapter two is just about to be written.
But why is the initiative so compelling?
I believe there are five great ingredients which make it a fantastic story and a great adventure to follow:
Our oceans; Life on earth has originated from the oceans and they are deeply and emotionally rooted in our minds. Since the beginning of times, they were the great source for food and for our dreams. They appear so big and infinite, it was hard to imagine they could be harmed. But they can.
A seemingly unsolvable problem; how on earth can you extract plastic on such a scale from the ocean? Mind-boggling billions of tons, floating on and under water, sometimes thousands of miles from any shore and water depth of up to 4000 meters. Impossible! As most of experts yelled out when reacting on how the problem can be solved.
A young and unlikely hero, an underdog; Boyan Slat was only 16 when he started to share his vision with the rest of the world. He has since then gathered a great team of experts around him to get funding and to solve the technical challenges of the project. I do not know what you were doing when you were 16, but it was very likely definitely not involving saving the world.
An almost childlike approach; to solve a problem of this majestic proportion it is inevitable to ask the right question in the beginning. Not only to get a solution, but to appeal to the imagination and fantasy of everyone involved. And of course, to attract funding. The question in the early stage of the development was: “Why go after the plastic if the plastic can come to you?” following the core principle of the ocean clean up people to work “with” nature and to use the natural ocean currents to catch the plastic.
The simple solution: A large curve of floating barriers with a collecting device in the middle. It catches the debris, collects it locally until it can be brought to shore for further processing. By addressing and solving some of the practical problems along the way, the initiative introduced the next phase with a new great theme:
“To catch plastic you have to act like plastic”. Introducing smaller floating devices which through the ocean currents travel to the hotspots of plastic pollution. This brilliant change to the design solved multiple technical problems and made the device cheaper.
I believe these five ingredients are compelling ingredients for a great story and part of the reason for the worldwide attention the initiative gets.
It is a phenomenon these days we know from brands and companies. We all are drawn to a great stories since the beginning of times because they make us feel being part of something bigger.
It also shows us the power of what creativity and design combined with determination can do to solve problems.
And in this case it tells us one thing: There is hope.
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written by Stefan Pangratz
Design Director at VBAT
