Conservation
T
H
E(^) G
R
EA
T
SH
AME
TAKING ACTION
The Ocean Cleanup is an NGO that was started in 2013 by then 18-year-old
Dutch inventor, Boyan Slat. His idea to create a system to capture the garbage
has been a big success. The Non-Governmental Organisation now employs 80
people and aims to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage patch completely by
- In 2015, they did the biggest study of the patch ever undertaken (called
the Mega Expedition). They used 30 boats and, eventually, a plane as well, to
bring back 1.2 million samples to study. It took them two years to complete. In
2018, they launched their system of floating barriers, 600m long with a 3m
deep ‘skirt’ that will work with the ocean’s natural currents to capture and
contain huge amounts of plastic. This will then be cleaned up using ships every
few months, the plastic sold to recycling facilities and the money will be used
to keep the project going. It’s a lot more technical than it sounds, but the team
hopes to clean up half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within five years.
Go check it out: oceancleanup.com
5
The number of ocean garbage
patches in the worldWHAT IS THE GREAT PACIFIC
GA R BAGE PATCH?
It’s an accumulation of the pollutants that humans have allowed to enter
the sea. The garbage is carried to a central point because of
natural ocean currents called gyres. There it has grown bigger
and bigger to become the largest accumulation of
plastic pollution on Earth. It sits between
Hawaii and California and is the largest
of the Earth’s five ocean
garbage patches.1.6 million
km²
The size of the patch – that’s three times the size of France!