In the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean lies a very disturbing kind of island—one which not even the most fearsome explorers would dare—or rather, want to—visit. It’s got no animals, no trees, no grass. It’s completely barren, and lacks even a solid ground to walk on: no rocks and no soil of any kind. It is in fact, an island of garbage, made up entirely of the world’s most wasteful plastic debris. We’re talking about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a gigantic gyre of marine debris particles entirely made up of rubbish.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is roughly located between Hawaii and California (at least its eastern section), in the North Pacific Ocean, and is three times as big as France. For years, garbage and debris has been accumulating near the region due to the force of oceanic currents, which bring together all sorts of waste materials that mostly originate from North America, South America, and Asia.
So far, scientists have been stumped about what to do with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as a full-scale clean up operation had been deemed impossible. Until now.
To the rescue
Dutch scientists have come to the world’s rescue, designing and testing a huge floating device that has successfully gathered plastic for the first time after several previous attempts. As the team refines their creation, Boyan Slat, creator of the Ocean Cleanup project, is optimistic. The young leader announced Wednesday that the system is finally doing what it was designed to do, and it’s working marvelously.
This system is designed to collect both large objects, such as fishing nets and tires, and even microplastics—which are collectively damaging entire ecosystems across the entire ocean and killing millions of organisms who accidentally ingest them.
During a press conference in Rotterdam, Slat stated:
“We are now catching plastics … After beginning this journey seven years ago, this first year of testing in the unforgivable environment of the high seas strongly indicates that our vision is attainable and that the beginning of our mission to rid the ocean of plastic garbage, which has accumulated for decades, is within our sights. We now have a self-contained system in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that is using the natural forces of the ocean to passively catch and concentrate plastics … This now gives us sufficient confidence in the general concept to keep going on this project.”
What happens after?
The plastic that is trapped by the device is then hauled to shore for recycling by ships that visit the area every three weeks. The group hopes that plastic recycled from the oceans could net a significant profit eventually, as items made from “sea plastic” have the potential to sell well.
“I think in a few years’ time when we have the full-scale fleet out there, I think it should be possible to cover the operational cost of the cleanup operation using the plastic harvested,” Slat said.
Hopefully that’s true. But at any rate, it’s nothing short of great news that scientists now have a practical way to deal with the immense amount of rubbish in the high seas—a crucial step going forward in our attempts to deal with all the environmental issues that plague us right now.
(Cover photo: @cs.millennials)
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