Ocean Clean Up deploys first prototype aimed at clearing Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2020
As scientists look to find a way to rid the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch of thousands of tonnes of waste plastic, a prototype ocean cleaning system has been deployed in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands.
Developed by the Dutch foundation, the 100-metre-long barrier prototype — known as the Ocean Cleanup system — is powered by the ocean’s currents and acts as an artificial coastline that can catch and concentrate debris in water.
The team behind Ocean Cleanup aims to achieve “the largest clean-up in history” when the nearly 100-kilometre full system is deployed in the Pacific in 2020.
But compared to previous efforts and technologies aimed at cleaning up the Pacific patch, Ocean Cleanup founder Boyan Slat said the new system differed in that it allowed “the natural ocean currents to do the hard work”.
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