Most Ocean Plastic Flows From Rivers. Can Giant Trash Barriers Stop It? | World Wide Waste

Summary

The video highlights Boyan Slat's initiative, The Ocean Cleanup, aimed at tackling ocean plastic pollution. Initially focused on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the nonprofit has shifted efforts toward rivers, which are the main sources of ocean plastics. Using solar-powered Interceptors, they capture trash before it reaches the sea. The video also touches on the environmental challenges, criticisms, and limitations of the project, while showcasing successful partnerships in places like the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. It emphasizes the need for broader systemic change to reduce plastic production and pollution.

Takeaways

• 🌊 Boyan Slat started The Ocean Cleanup with the goal of removing plastic from oceans using U-shaped barriers.
• 🚮 The original timeline for cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was overly optimistic, but 200 metric tons of trash have been removed from the Pacific.
• 🌎 Rivers are the main sources of ocean plastic, so The Ocean Cleanup focuses on cleaning rivers with machines called Interceptors.
• 🛠️ Interceptors, which are 700-foot-long trash barriers, capture waste from rivers and divert it to collection machines.
• 💧 The Rio Ozama in the Dominican Republic is one of the most polluted rivers and has an Interceptor installed to clean it.
• 🌱 Invasive water hyacinths, which thrive in polluted rivers, are being removed as part of the cleanup efforts.
• 🚚 Local communities often struggle with waste management due to poor infrastructure, contributing to river pollution.
• 🇩🇴 The Dominican Navy partners with The Ocean Cleanup to operate Interceptors and manually collect trash that escapes.
• ⚠️ Concerns exist about the Interceptors disrupting river ecosystems, but efforts are made to minimize harm.
• 🌍 Boyan Slat’s vision now includes adapting solutions for different river conditions globally.

Q & A

Who is Boyan Slat and what was his initial idea for cleaning the ocean?

Boyan Slat is a Dutch entrepreneur who, in 2012, proposed an ambitious plan to eliminate plastic in the ocean by harnessing natural currents to collect debris using a U-shaped barrier.

How much plastic has The Ocean Cleanup removed from the Pacific Ocean so far?

The Ocean Cleanup has removed over 200 metric tons of trash from the Pacific Ocean, though it's only a small fraction of the total plastic present.

What are Interceptors, and what is their purpose?

Interceptors are machines developed by The Ocean Cleanup to capture waste from rivers before it reaches the ocean. These machines are designed to prevent plastic from entering open waters.

Why are rivers a critical focus for The Ocean Cleanup's efforts?

Rivers are crucial because they act as arteries, carrying large amounts of plastic from land to sea. By targeting rivers, The Ocean Cleanup aims to stop plastic pollution at its source.

What challenges do the Interceptors face in rivers like the Rio Ozama in the Dominican Republic?

The Rio Ozama carries up to 22,000 metric tons of plastic into the Caribbean Sea annually, and while Interceptors help capture waste, residents often have limited trash disposal options, leading to continued pollution.

How does The Ocean Cleanup address the unique needs of different rivers?

The Ocean Cleanup adapts its Interceptors to the specific conditions of each river. For example, in Guatemala’s Rio Motagua, they built an Interceptor fence to handle the massive amounts of trash flowing down the river during flash floods.

What environmental concerns do some experts have about the use of Interceptors and ocean cleanup devices?

Some experts worry that these machines might disrupt ecosystems by capturing living organisms alongside plastic. Although The Ocean Cleanup tries to reduce this impact, it’s impossible to avoid capturing some marine life.

What alternative methods are suggested for cleaning the ocean besides sweeping entire gyres?

Some researchers suggest targeting clusters of plastic, like 'plastic dust bunnies,' which are easier to collect and often contain more harmful debris, such as ghost fishing gear.

How does The Ocean Cleanup's river system compare to its ocean cleanup efforts?

The Ocean Cleanup has collected over 10 times more plastic from rivers than from the ocean. This highlights the efficiency of targeting rivers to prevent plastic from reaching the sea in the first place.

What personal efforts does Carmen Encarnacion, a resident near the Rio Ozama, make to combat pollution in her community?

Carmen collects invasive water hyacinths, which are harmful to the river's ecosystem, and transforms them into useful items like hats and bags. She plays an active role in her neighborhood’s efforts to clean the environment.

Outlines

00:00

🌊 Boyan Slat's Ocean Cleanup Ambition

In 2012, Boyan Slat, a teenager, introduced an ambitious idea to clean the ocean by harnessing natural currents with a U-shaped barrier to collect plastic. Although the initial timeline for cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch didn't pan out, Slat's nonprofit, The Ocean Cleanup, has made strides by removing over 200 metric tons of trash. Despite early skepticism, the organization now aims to tackle pollution closer to its source: rivers, where most ocean plastic originates.

05:01

🚢 Interceptors and Cleaning River Plastic

To prevent plastic from reaching oceans, The Ocean Cleanup deploys machines called Interceptors in polluted rivers. These machines are designed to capture floating waste and have been deployed globally, including in the Dominican Republic’s Rio Ozama. However, experts express concern that these devices could strip rivers of important natural elements. Despite the progress, plastic pollution remains a significant challenge due to the sheer volume of waste flowing through rivers.

🏞 River Ecosystem and Local Impact

The Rio Ozama, one of the world's dirtiest rivers, has become a key focus for The Ocean Cleanup. Residents, like Carmen Encarnacion, live near the river and depend on it for drinking water. While an Interceptor was installed, poor waste management systems force locals to dump trash directly into drainage systems, which end up in the river. Despite this, The Ocean Cleanup is working closely with local partners like the Dominican Navy to manage and maintain the river cleaner.

🌿 Tackling Invasive Species and Pollution

The Ozama River not only carries trash but is also overrun by invasive water hyacinths. These plants, introduced from the Amazon, thrive in polluted waters and contribute to the ecosystem's degradation. The Ocean Cleanup's Interceptors also collect these plants, which are harmful due to their rapid growth and ability to block light and oxygen in the water. This underlines the complex nature of river pollution, which includes both plastic waste and invasive species.

🌊 Cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Ocean Cleanup continues its efforts to address plastic in the open ocean, focusing on the North Pacific Gyre, part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Using a system of barriers, the nonprofit aims to consolidate and collect plastic. Although they've removed over 200 metric tons of plastic, this only accounts for a small fraction of the total debris. The organization is working on scaling up their system to clean larger areas more efficiently, but challenges remain, including the disruption of marine life.

🐠 Ecosystem Concerns and Plastic Dust Bunnies

Critics of ocean cleanup efforts argue that once plastic is in the ocean, it becomes intertwined with marine life. Removing it can harm sea creatures that use the debris as shelter or breeding grounds. Researchers suggest focusing on concentrated clusters of plastic, such as discarded fishing gear, which is particularly harmful to marine life. By targeting these areas, the most dangerous plastics can be removed without disrupting ecosystems.

🏭 The Importance of Preventing Plastic Pollution

The Ocean Cleanup has made greater progress in cleaning rivers compared to oceans, but the issue of plastic pollution persists. Without proper waste management systems, rivers like the Ozama will continue to carry trash into the sea. Boyan Slat acknowledges that while landfill isn't an ideal solution, it's preferable to letting the plastic reach the ocean. The organization works with local governments and partners to improve waste disposal methods and restore polluted ecosystems.

👩‍🎨 Local Efforts and Community Engagement

Community members, like Carmen, play a role in addressing local pollution. She collects invasive water hyacinths and repurposes them into items such as hats and bags, turning a harmful plant into something useful. However, despite these efforts, she and others recognize the need for larger-scale solutions to remove plastic and invasive species from rivers and oceans for good.

Keywords

💡Boyan Slat

Boyan Slat is the Dutch entrepreneur who founded The Ocean Cleanup in 2013. His ambition is to tackle ocean plastic pollution by developing innovative systems like U-shaped barriers and river Interceptors. He is central to the video's theme of ocean conservation, as his efforts demonstrate the challenges and ongoing advancements in cleaning the world's oceans and rivers.

💡The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch refers to a large concentration of plastic debris floating in the Pacific Ocean, trapped by ocean currents. Boyan Slat initially believed this patch could clean itself in five years with the help of his systems. The patch symbolizes the vast scale of ocean pollution, and much of the video centers around how The Ocean Cleanup aims to address this growing environmental issue.

💡Interceptor

The Interceptor is a machine invented by The Ocean Cleanup to remove plastic waste from rivers before it reaches the ocean. These devices use the river's natural current to redirect trash toward a conveyor belt system that collects the waste in dumpsters. The video highlights the significance of these Interceptors in preventing further ocean pollution by tackling one of the main sources—rivers.

💡River pollution

River pollution refers to the contamination of rivers, often by plastic waste, which eventually flows into the oceans. The video focuses on rivers like the Ozama River in the Dominican Republic, one of the most polluted rivers, as key contributors to ocean plastic. The Ocean Cleanup's approach involves placing Interceptors in polluted rivers to stop plastic at the source, demonstrating the interconnectedness of river and ocean pollution.

💡Water hyacinths

Water hyacinths are invasive aquatic plants mentioned in the video, which thrive in polluted rivers like the Ozama. They clog waterways, block light, and reduce oxygen, harming the local ecosystem. The video uses this plant to illustrate how pollution not only affects the water but also promotes the spread of harmful species, further degrading the environment.

💡Rio Ozama

The Rio Ozama is a highly polluted river in the Dominican Republic that flows into the Caribbean Sea. The Ocean Cleanup installed an Interceptor here to capture the massive amounts of plastic the river carries annually. This river is a prime example of how upstream pollution significantly contributes to ocean plastic, and it showcases the importance of tackling river pollution in the fight against ocean plastic.

💡Gyres

Gyres are large systems of circulating ocean currents that trap floating debris, such as plastic waste. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is part of the North Pacific Gyre, one of five major gyres globally. The video discusses how these gyres accumulate trash and highlights the challenges The Ocean Cleanup faces in addressing pollution within these vast, swirling ocean zones.

💡Ghost gear

Ghost gear refers to abandoned or lost fishing equipment, such as nets, which pose significant threats to marine life. In the video, ghost gear is identified as a major component of ocean plastic and one of the most harmful types of debris, as it entangles and kills marine animals. The focus on ghost gear emphasizes the need to target the most dangerous pollutants in the ocean cleanup efforts.

💡Plastic clumps

Plastic clumps, or 'plastic dust bunnies,' refer to clusters of plastic debris that tend to form in the open ocean. These clumps make it easier to collect large amounts of plastic from targeted areas. The video mentions this method as a potential alternative to sweeping entire gyres, showing that a more focused approach might be more effective in some cases.

💡Plastic-free ocean

A plastic-free ocean is the ultimate goal of The Ocean Cleanup's efforts. The video poses the question of whether cleaning rivers and stopping plastic pollution at its source can lead to a plastic-free ocean. This concept encapsulates the larger environmental mission of reducing and eventually eliminating plastic pollution from the world's oceans.

Highlights

In 2012, a teenager, Boyan Slat, envisioned an ambitious plan to eliminate plastic from the ocean using natural currents and a U-shaped barrier.

The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Boyan Slat, has removed more than 200 metric tons of trash from the Pacific.

Boyan Slat's original timeline to clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within five years did not work out, but progress has been made.

Most ocean plastic comes from rivers, leading to the invention of Interceptors, machines designed to capture plastic waste in rivers before it reaches open waters.

The Ocean Cleanup installed an Interceptor in the Rio Ozama, one of the world's most polluted rivers, to capture floating debris.

Interceptor machines allow water to pass while stopping floating trash, with conveyor belts carrying the waste into dumpsters.

Many of the plants collected by the Interceptor in the Rio Ozama are invasive water hyacinths, which thrive in polluted waters and contribute to ecological imbalances.

Nearby communities along the Rio Ozama lack proper urban planning and trash collection infrastructure, contributing to river pollution.

The Ocean Cleanup is working with local partners like the Dominican Navy to handle day-to-day operations and trash collection from the Rio Ozama.

The organization has plans to expand its river cleanup operations, targeting highly polluted rivers like the Rio Motagua in Guatemala.

The Ocean Cleanup is fine-tuning its systems to better capture plastic while minimizing harm to marine life, as its systems currently capture some fish and other creatures.

Critics suggest focusing on removing the most harmful ocean plastics, like ghost fishing gear, which poses significant threats to marine life.

Plastic in the open ocean forms 'plastic dust bunnies,' making targeted removal of concentrated clusters more efficient than sweeping large areas.

As of April 2023, The Ocean Cleanup has removed over 10 times more plastic from rivers than from oceans.

While not ideal, sending river plastic to landfills is seen as a better alternative than allowing it to continue polluting the oceans.

Transcripts

Narrator: In 2012,

a teenager came up with an ambitious plan

to eliminate plastic in the ocean.

Boyan Slat wanted to harness natural currents

to collect floating debris inside a giant U-shaped barrier.

I believe the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

can completely clean itself

in just five years.

Narrator: That timeline didn't work out,

and there's still a garbage truck's worth of plastic

entering the ocean every minute on average.

But The Ocean Cleanup has made progress.

The nonprofit has removed more than 200 metric tons

of trash from the Pacific.

Many people said that it couldn't be done,

that it was a fool's errand, a pipe dream.

Narrator: But to really make a dent in plastic pollution,

the organization's going closer to the source.

Most ocean plastic comes from rivers,

so the Dutch entrepreneur invented these big machines

that capture waste before it ever makes it to open waters.

Rivers are the arteries

that carry the trash from land to sea.

Narrator: They're called Interceptors,

and the founder plans to deploy 1,000 of them.

But some experts worry

these machines could strip rivers and oceans

of things that are supposed to be there, too.

So can a network of trash barriers

clean the world's most polluted rivers?

And are cleaner rivers the key to a plastic-free ocean?

The Rio Ozama in the Dominican Republic

flows into the Caribbean Sea.

It's one of the dirtiest rivers in the world,

and Carmen Encarnacion has lived nearby for 24 years.

Narrator: The Ocean Cleanup installed an Interceptor

about a mile down the river from her home in 2020.

Narrator: The idea is to let the current

do most of the work.

As trash travels downstream,

this 700-foot-long arm redirects it

toward the machine's opening.

Boyan: So what the barriers do is they let the water pass,

but they stop everything that's floating.

On the roof, we have these solar panels

that are connected to batteries, which store the energy,

so that even at night we can keep intercepting plastic.

Narrator: Conveyor belts carry the waste

to one of six dumpsters.

They can fill up in just three days during the rainy season.

A lot of today's haul is plants.

And in this case, that's probably not a bad thing.

These are invasive water hyacinths.

They grow naturally in the Amazon,

but over the past century,

humans have introduced them to new places

where they don't have any predators,

like the Ozama River, where they're taking over,

blocking light and oxygen

and killing plants and animals beneath them.

The plant tends to thrive in polluted water,

and its roots cling to trash.

Narrator: Nearby factories and farms have used this river

as a dumping ground for decades.

But in Santo Domingo,

many people who live on the Ozama's banks

depend on it for drinking water.

A lot of them also have limited options

for dealing with waste.

Erik: It has to do with urban planning,

and these communities here

don't have the access roads for the trucks to come in.

Narrator: So some locals dump their trash

and drainage ditches called cañadas.

So right behind me, we have the Cañada Bonavides.

It's one of the worst cañadas

we have here in the Ozama River.

Just like the rivers are the arteries

that take the plastic to the ocean,

these cañadas here are the arteries

that take the plastic to the river.

Narrator: The Ocean Cleanup estimates the Ozama carries

up to 22,000 metric tons of plastic

into the Caribbean Sea each year.

The nonprofit has 10 other Interceptors

in rivers around the globe.

The devices can't remove all types of pollution,

like chemicals, or plastic that doesn't float.

And until residents have more options

for dealing with trash,

it'll keep ending up in the Ozama.

Erik: We rely heavily on working with local partners,

such as the Dominican navy here, or the UNDP,

precisely to work on this upstream problem.

Narrator: The Navy handles day-to-day operations

for the river cleaner,

and it works with the national government

to manually collect trash that slips by the Interceptor.

Erik: They have proven to be the perfect partners for us,

and by the end of the year,

they should be owning the Interceptor.

Narrator: Once that happens,

The Ocean Cleanup will shift its focus to other rivers,

like the Rio Motagua in Guatemala,

which the nonprofit says might have more plastic

than any other in the world.

Boyan: In Guatemala,

there's so much trash coming down the river

that these machines would be filled within a few seconds.

So there, again, we have a different type of Interceptor.

Narrator: The nonprofit built an Interceptor fence

to catch plastic in a flash-flood zone

that flows into the river.

Boyan: Every river is unique.

You really need to adapt it

to the specific circumstances of that river.

Narrator: The fence lets some plastics through,

but Boyan expects to have an updated Interceptor

by the end of 2023.

Meanwhile, the founder hasn't given up on his initial dream:

cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

He founded The Ocean Cleanup in 2013,

and a decade later, the patch is still growing.

One challenge is that it isn't really a patch.

It's actually two swirling clouds of debris,

which often aren't visible on the surface.

Natural currents have created

five whirlpools like it around the world, called gyres,

and each one collects trash.

The nonprofit is working on cleaning up

the North Pacific Gyre using this thing.

It's a flexible barrier stretched between two ships

with a shallow screen hanging off.

The idea is to consolidate floating plastic,

making it easier to collect about once a week.

The Ocean Cleanup says in total,

it's removed more than 200 metric tons of plastic

from the Pacific Gyre.

Yet, it's only about two-tenths of a percent

of all the plastic that might be floating here.

The team is working on a system

three times bigger than this one,

which should be ready sometime in 2023.

Some researchers worry

these cleaning machines can disrupt ecosystems

by scooping up living things along with trash.

The Ocean Cleanup says the screen creates a downward flow

that carries living creatures under it.

But the system still catches some fish,

crabs, barnacles, and other animals.

The nonprofit says it's continually fine-tuning the device

to try to keep creatures out,

but it's impossible to avoid them completely.

That's partially because sea life

is all mixed up with the plastic

and can even live right on it.

Martin: Sea urchins,

sea stars,

pretty much anything that you can imagine,

you can also find on these plastic flows.

There's a lot of organisms that also attach their eggs

to these floating plastics.

Narrator: Some critics say the whole idea

of passively harvesting plastic is risky.

Martin: Once it is in the ocean,

it is connected

with marine life.

It's too late to remove it.

Narrator: A potential alternative

is targeting clusters of trash

instead of sweeping the whole gyre.

Plastic in the open ocean tends to form

these plastic dust bunnies at sea.

Collecting the plastic debris is also pretty easy

once it's clumped into these dust bunnies,

because then you have a single targeted area

with an extremely high amount of plastic.

Narrator: Those clumps are mostly fishing gear,

which does the most damage.

Rebecca: By focusing on things like ghost gear,

which are really, really dangerous to marine life,

you're collecting the most harmful plastic out of the ocean,

not necessarily collecting

some of the less harmful plastic things,

like laundry baskets or buckets,

which may have a lot of life growing on them.

Narrator: The Ocean Cleanup says that in the long run,

its ocean systems will be more scalable

than manual cleaning.

When it comes to its river cleanup,

experts were more optimistic.

I loved it, and the diagrams,

how it sort of funnels it in.

I was like, that is so perfect.

Once it's in the ocean, it's a problem

that really becomes much harder to manage.

Narrator: That tracks with Boyan's results.

As of April 2023, his team has collected more than 10 times

as much plastic from rivers as from the ocean.

In Santo Domingo,

members of the Dominican navy empty the dumpsters

and send the haul to the Duquesa landfill.

Boyan: Of course, landfill's not ideal,

but at least it's a million times better

than it flowing into the ocean.

Narrator: Boyan says the river plastics

can't be recycled as easily as the ones from the ocean.

Boyan: It's much more of a mix, and also it's much more polluted.

So you have sewage water that's often in these rivers.

Narrator: Ultimately, restoring a polluted ecosystem

requires big changes.

The best way to keep plastic out of rivers and oceans

is to make less of it.

Martin: Everybody can do something,

but we also need the companies to do their part.

This needs to be a collaboration

between all sectors of society.

Narrator: In the meantime,

Carmen does what she can to clean up her own neighborhood.

In her free time, she collects water hyacinths

and transforms them into art.

Narrator: She dries the plant and weaves it into hats,

bags, and more.

Narrator: Much like plastic, the plant can be useful,

but Carmen still wants to see it gone.