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A massive cleanup of plastic in the seas will begin in the Pacific Ocean, by way of Alameda, California. The Ocean Cleanup, an effort that's been five years in the making, plans to launch its beta cleanup system, a 600-meter (almost 2,000-foot) long floater that can collect about five tons of ocean plastic per month.
It's a start. The launch date is September 8, and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch being targeted is more than 1,000 nautical miles from the launch point and on the move.
The Ocean Cleanup plans to monitor the performance of the beta, called System 001, and have an improved fleet of 60 more units skimming the ocean for plastics in about a year a half. The ultimate goal of the project, founded by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat when he was 18, is to clean up 50% of the patch in five years, with a 90% reduction by 2040.
[...] The total cost of System 001 is about 21 million euros ($24.6 million U.S.), according to a rep for startup. That includes design, development, production, assembly and monitoring during the first year of operation.
Once the scale-up is complete and the fleet of 60 is in place, the organization plans to continue operations with help from the proceeds of recycled plastic. Plans are to make products using ocean plastic, so people can support the cleanup that way.
[...] The system takes advantage of natural oceanic forces to catch and concentrate the plastic.
You might liken it to one of those self-directing pool cleaners, on a larger scale. Or a big Roomba cleaning robot.
(Score: 1) by CheesyMoo on Wednesday September 05 2018, @06:02PM (2 children)
Glad to see this happening, of course its not just ugly and bad for the fish, the microplastics severely effect the ocean's plankton, the basis of the entire planets food web (and producers of 50-70% (figure under debate) of the Earth's oxygen)
Indeed you can't really remove the plastic without also grabbing some sea-life. It makes me think of getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist, leaving the plaque/tartar on your teeth is worse than taking the hit and getting a few scrapes (but thats what the dentist tells me, just like the barber thinks I need a haircut). But to continue the argument with myself, the plastic gyre in the ocean is a problem looking for a solution, not the other way around...
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 05 2018, @10:06PM (1 child)
If somebody can figure out a good use for the plastic, like plastic lumber or something, we could look at it like resource extraction.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday September 06 2018, @12:21AM
We already can. The average US household would have to replace the majority of the items contained in the house if plastics suddenly disappeared. They're absolutely essential for anything approaching a modern western lifestyle.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.