The Ocean Cleanup launches to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Summary

The Ocean Cleanup's CEO discusses their mission to remove 90% of ocean plastic by 2040. System 1, a passive floating device, collects plastic in a U-shape design without harming marine life. Lead Oceanographer, Lo Halyburton, emphasizes the importance of stopping plastic pollution and the need for cleanup. The team aims to scale up with a fleet of 60 systems by 2021, turning collected plastic into valuable products to fund further cleanup efforts.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The Ocean Cleanup's mission is to remove plastic from the world's oceans with a goal to reduce the concentration by 90% by 2040.
• 🚢 System 1 is a floating tube with a skirt that captures plastic in a U-shape movement, designed to be passive and not harm marine life.
• 🔬 The lead oceanographer emphasizes the importance of understanding plastic pollution's sources, transport, and fate in the ocean.
• 📈 Macro plastic pollution has been increasing substantially, and it's crucial to stop plastic from entering the oceans.
• 🌀 Plastics accumulate in subtropical gyres where currents converge, particularly in the North Pacific, forming large accumulation zones.
• 🌱 To combat plastic pollution, individuals can reduce single-use plastic consumption and participate in cleanups of natural environments.
• 🔄 System One is a scalable prototype designed to learn and improve, with plans to scale up to a fleet of 60 systems by 2021.
• 🚮 The collected plastic is intended to be recycled into durable products, funding the cleanup operations through its sales.
• 📈 The team is eager to see the first plastic brought back to shore, signifying proven technology and a step towards their ambitious goals.
• 📊 The next few months will be focused on analyzing data from the cleanup system to optimize its performance and efficiency.

Q & A

What is the mission of the Ocean Cleanup?

The mission of the Ocean Cleanup is to develop advanced technologies to remove the world's oceans of plastic, aiming to reduce the concentration of floating plastic in the oceans by ninety percent by 2040.

Can you describe System 1, the floating tube device used by the Ocean Cleanup?

System 1 is a floating tube with a skirt attached beneath it, which is underwater for about three meters. It moves around the ocean in a C-shape or U-shape, catching and collecting plastic inside of it.

How does the Ocean Cleanup ensure that their system does not harm marine life?

The system is designed to be passive and is not propelled by any means other than natural ocean forces. This design minimizes any adverse effects on marine life.

Who is the lead oceanographer for the Ocean Cleanup and what is their role?

Lauren Haliburton is the lead oceanographer for the Ocean Cleanup. Her role involves studying plastic pollution in the ocean, which includes understanding the sources, transport, and fate of plastic.

What is the significance of the subtropical gyre in the context of plastic pollution?

The subtropical gyre, particularly in the North Pacific, is an area where ocean currents converge and marine debris accumulates. It is one of the five major accumulation zones for plastic pollution.

What are the five accumulation zones in the world's oceans?

There are five accumulation zones, one in each oceanic gyre, where ocean currents converge and plastic debris accumulates.

What is one of the primary recommendations to combat plastic pollution according to the script?

One of the primary recommendations is to reduce the use of plastic, especially single-use plastic, and to clean up trash in natural environments whenever possible.

What is the minimum viable product referred to in the script?

The minimum viable product referred to is System 1, which is the initial version of the Ocean Cleanup's device designed to prove the concept and start the cleaning process.

What is the goal for the Ocean Cleanup in terms of scaling up their operations?

The goal is to scale up to a fleet of about 60 systems, with the belief that they will have this fleet in operation by 2021.

How does the Ocean Cleanup plan to utilize the collected plastic?

The collected plastic is intended to be taken back to land and processed with recycling partners to create durable, desirable products. The sale of these products will help fund the cleanup operations.

What is the significance of bringing the first plastic back to shore according to the script?

Bringing the first plastic back to shore signifies that the technology has been proven effective, which is a key milestone in the Ocean Cleanup's mission.

Outlines

00:00

🌊 Ocean Cleanup Mission

The CEO of the Ocean Cleanup introduces the organization's mission to reduce ocean plastic pollution by 90% by 2040. The system, named System 1, is a passive floating tube with a skirt that captures plastic in a U-shape movement. The design is wildlife-friendly, with no propulsion other than natural ocean forces. The lead oceanographer discusses the increasing problem of macro plastic pollution, particularly in the North Pacific's subtropical gyre, and the importance of stopping plastic from entering the ocean. The script also mentions the need for individuals to reduce single-use plastic and participate in cleanups.

05:01

🚀 Launching System One and Future Cleanup Plans

The script details the launch of System One, the minimum viable product designed to start the cleanup process and gather valuable data for future improvements. The goal is to scale up to a fleet of 60 systems by 2021 to expedite the cleanup before plastic breaks down into smaller, more harmful pieces. The plan includes bringing the collected plastic back to land, recycling it into durable products, and selling these to fund further cleanup operations. The speaker expresses anticipation for the first return of plastic to shore, signifying proven technology, and the importance of monitoring incoming data for operational success.

Keywords

💡Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup refers to the organization that is focused on developing technologies to remove plastic from the world's oceans. Their mission is to clean up 90% of oceanic plastic by 2040. In the script, the organization is introduced as the leader in combating ocean pollution using advanced cleanup systems.

💡System 1

System 1 is the prototype technology developed by The Ocean Cleanup, designed to passively collect plastic in the ocean. It consists of a floating tube with an underwater skirt and moves naturally with ocean currents to capture debris. In the video, this system is highlighted as their first operational product aimed at testing and improving the cleanup process.

💡Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution refers to the accumulation of plastic objects and particles in the Earth's environment, particularly in the oceans, where it poses severe risks to marine life. The script emphasizes that macro plastic pollution, specifically, has increased over recent years, making ocean cleanup efforts more urgent.

💡Marine Life

Marine life refers to the animals and organisms that live in the ocean. The script stresses the importance of protecting marine life from plastic pollution, as the design of the cleanup system carefully avoids harming marine ecosystems.

💡Passive Cleaning System

A passive cleaning system operates without external propulsion, using natural forces like currents and wind. System 1 is described as a passive cleanup method that moves with ocean forces to gather plastic without damaging the environment.

💡Subtropical Gyres

Subtropical gyres are large systems of circulating ocean currents, created by the Earth's rotation and winds. These areas often accumulate marine debris like plastic due to the converging currents. The script mentions the North Pacific gyre as one of five major accumulation zones, and the target for the cleanup.

💡Recycling

Recycling in the context of the video involves processing the plastic collected from the ocean and turning it into useful products. The goal is to create durable items from ocean plastic that can help fund future cleanup operations and prevent more plastic from entering the environment.

💡Macro Plastic

Macro plastic refers to larger plastic debris, such as bottles or bags, that float in the ocean. The script indicates that this is a growing issue and an initial target for cleanup before it breaks down into microplastics, which are harder to collect.

💡Fleet of Systems

The fleet of systems refers to the plan to scale up the ocean cleanup efforts by deploying around 60 units of System 1 or similar technologies. The goal is to increase the scale of plastic removal to achieve significant reduction targets.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability in this context is about creating long-term solutions that reduce plastic pollution without causing further environmental damage. The video underlines the importance of not only cleaning the oceans but also reducing the use of single-use plastics and creating products that do not end up back in the environment.

Highlights

The Ocean Cleanup aims to reduce the concentration of floating plastic in the oceans by 90% by 2040.

System 1 is a floating tube with a skirt that catches plastic in a U-shape movement.

The system is designed to be passive, propelled by natural ocean forces to avoid harming marine life.

The Ocean Cleanup's lead oceanographer discusses the study of plastic pollution's sources, transport, and fate.

Macro plastic pollution is increasing substantially, particularly in subtropical gyres.

There are five major oceanic accumulation zones, with the North Pacific's being the largest.

Individuals can help by reducing single-use plastic and participating in cleanups.

System One is a minimum viable product designed to start intensive cleanup operations.

The goal is to learn from System One's first year of operation to improve future systems.

A fleet of 60 systems is planned by 2021 to expedite the cleanup process.

The urgency is due to the risk of plastic breaking down into smaller, more harmful pieces.

The first plastic collected will be brought back to shore, marking a proven technology.

Recycled plastic will be turned into durable products to fund the cleanup operation.

The next few months will be focused on obsessively monitoring data for the first plastic catch.

Transcripts

[Music]

movin

I'm the CEO of the ocean cleaner it's

the ocean cleanups mission to develop

advanced technologies to rate the

world's oceans of plastic we want to

reduce the concentration of floating

plastic in the oceans with ninety

percent by 2040 system 1 is a floating

tube a floatation device with a skirts

attached beneath it the skirt is

underwater for about three meters that

system will move around the ocean in a

c-shape or au shape catching up on the

plastic collecting it inside of it we

care so much about the marine life and

how much harm the plastic is doing to it

so in designing the system we've taken

great care not to have any adverse

effect effect on the wildlife that's out

there our system is not propelled at all

apart from the natural forces of the

ocean it is proposed by the forces of

nature it is designed to be a passive

cleaning-up system

my name is lo Halyburton

I'm the lead oceanographer for the ocean

cleanup and basically we study plastic

pollution in the ocean so means

understanding the sources the transport

and the fate of plastic in the ocean

[Music]

think we're saying that macro plastic

pollution and particular is increasing

substantially over the last few years

and I think it's very important to

understand that we need to stop putting

plastic in the ocean so plastic are

being released in the ocean and they

basically move with currents with wind

and wave and accumulates in the

subtropical waters in the North Pacific

particularly in what we call the

subtropical gyre and those are areas

where rescue the currents are converging

and marine debris accumulates it does it

does migrates but it stays relatively in

the same area but it moves there is five

accumulation zone the same same type so

one in each oceanic person we believe

the one in the North Pacific is the

largest

[Music]

well I think they can start by reducing

the use of plastic parts use single-use

plastic I think is is one one big topic

and and also I think that cleanup

matters you know anytime you go to the

beach to reverse forests in natural

environments if you find trash it's

always good to just pick it up and put

in the bin right

our system one is a better type version

it's the minimum viable product so and

it actually works so it is the intensive

start cleaning up but we want to learn

from it for this first year of operation

and collects a lot of valuable

information in order to be able to clean

up 50% in five years we need multiple

clean up systems so we are now launching

our first system the system one which

will prove the concepts and will give us

enough information so that we can

implement it in a redesign in the next

generation of clean up system which

should be even bigger and better and

more productive we intend to scale up

and we need a fleet of about 60 of those

types of systems we're in a bit of a

hurry because we do see the risk of the

plastic that's currently out there

breaking down into smaller pieces which

will cause even more harm so we really

want to get as much out now that it's

still big as soon as we can so we do

have some ambitions ambitious plans to

scale up fast we believe that we will

have the fleet of 60 systems in

operation by 2021

[Music]

so for the next few months are going to

be super tense this is this is an

exciting moment but of course the moment

were looking most forward to is to bring

this first plastic back to shore it's

you know because that means that it's

proven technology and that's what we

hope to achieve with this first system

so the idea is that we take the plastic

back to land and we work together with

our recycling partners and the idea is

that we can process that plastic and

turn it into very nice desirable

products that are durable designed to

not end up back into the oceans and by

selling those we actually help to to

help fund the cleanup and fund the

operation of the cleanup system so next

few months I'll be really obsessively

looking at the data that's coming in

from the vessel from the data streams

from the cleanup system which will

hopefully then allow us to catch the

first plastic and bring it to land

[Music]

you

[Music]