The Ocean Cleanup
Imagine being in school and thinking of an idea which could change the world and make the Earth a better place. That’s exactly what happened to Boyan Slat when he was just 16 years old! After scuba diving in Greece with his family, he saw so much plastic floating around in the water, that he wondered “Why we can’t we just clean this up?”.
Plastic is harmful to the ocean ecosystem as it does not biodegrade and instead breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces which can enter food chains and poison the animals which live there. Ocean plastic rubbish has formed huge swirling gyres* that have been named the Pacific Garbage Patches. These are so large that you could fit the UK into them 6 times or more!
In just 8 years, using cutting edge technology, Boyan and his team have designed 2 methods for cleaning up ocean plastic. Firstly, 2 huge boats pull a large but shallow net behind them slowly through the water and funnel the plastic into the back of it. The second way that they clear up plastic is by collecting it as it moves down rivers. This stops the plastic from entering the oceans in the first place. They use floating machines called interceptors which are fully automated using robot and AI technology. Even better, the plastic that they collect is then recycled!
Have a look at their website and watch one or more of their amazing videos!
TALKING POINT
Does anyone have any ideas for a machine or technology that could make our planet a better place to live? Maybe you could be like Boyan and make your idea a reality!
*gyre - a spiral or vortex.
Find out more about The Ocean Cleanup here
Tags: H2, H25, Ocean garbage patches, The Ocean Cleanup, Blog, Solutions