The Ocean Cleanup, Failure or Just a Setback?
The Ocean Cleanup is an organization created by Boyan Slat that came up with a device that was designed to clean up the millions of tons of plastics that is currently polluting our oceans. The device is made up of large floating plastic tubes that are formed in a U shape that are attached to plastic curtains that hang into the water and collect plastic within it. The plastic is then supposed to be collected periodically by separate vessels that are staffed by actual people.
The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit organization and has raised over 2 million dollars to fund the production of the device and other operations. They launched their first prototype, system 001, into the ocean earlier this year in hopes to begin the process of cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. However, they ran into several problems maintaining the device in the harsh conditions of the open sea. Although the device was meant to withstand these conditions, it failed about four months into its first deployment, and Slat and his team were forced to retrieve it and bring it back to shore for repairs. One of the plastic tube sections detached from the rest of the device on one side due to the constant fluctuations and movements from the waves and wind of the open sea.
Additionally, system 001 struggled to keep the collected plastic within its borders after it was captured. This was due to a design flaw and Slat’s team concluded it was because the device was not moving faster than the plastic. They are now working on a way to employ more power into the device using natural elements like wind and solar power to propel the device.
Although Slat is confident that his team will be able to fix and improve the prototype and have it back in action within a few months he did not give a precise timeline. Critics of the Ocean Cleanup project are questioning if this project is worth fixing due to the high cost of the manufacturing and the amount of resources (including using fuel) it is taking to maintain/employ the device.
Miriam Goldstein, the director of ocean policy at the Center for American Progress which is an independent nonpartisan policy institute, and a long time critic of the Ocean Cleanup, believes there are better alternatives to this new device that are more efficient and already being put to use. She believes devices like solar powered water wheels are better alternatives to the expensive Ocean Cleanup device because they are proven to be effective and do not use fossil fuels.
