First Plastic from Great Pacific Garbage Patch Arrives Onshore in Vancouver – gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/first-great-pacific-garbage-patch-plastic-arrives-onshore-in-vancouver
The Ocean Cleanup’s Founder and CEO Boyan Slat speaks during a press event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada welcoming the first catch of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, December 12, 2019.
Photo courtesy The Ocean Cleanup
The Dutch non-profit led by young entrepreneur Boyan Slat is just now bringing the first batch of ocean plastic back to shore following a successful mission to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The first plastic arrived last week in Vancouver, British Columbia, after being caught by The Ocean Cleanup’s u-shaped floating collection system.
Now onshore, the plastic trash will be recycled into consumer products that will that The Ocean Cleanup will sell to help fundraise for future cleanup operations.
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Based in Rotterdam, The Ocean Cleanup was launched by Slat in 2013 with the mission of ridding the world’s oceans of plastic trash through the development of a fleet of long, floating barriers that move with the currents to passively concentrate and collect ocean plastic and other trash for collection. The company deployed its first system to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in September 2018, but almost immediately it began experiencing difficulties which sent it back to shore for repairs and upgrades.
After correcting the issues, The Ocean Cleanup deployed its second system in June 2019 and, after several months of trials, the company announced its first plastic collection in October.
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With “Mission One” now complete, Slat and The Ocean Cleanup are looking towards the deployment for their second system, System 002, which is hoped to be a “key stepping stone” to full-scale cleanup of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.