The Ocean Cleanup is a
nonprofit environmental engineering
organization
An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...
based in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, that develops technology to extract
plastic pollution
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...
from the oceans and intercept it in rivers before it can reach the ocean. After initial testing and prototyping in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
they deployed their first full-scale prototype in the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It ran into difficulty after two months and was towed to Hawaii for inspection and repair. In June 2019, their second prototype system was deployed. They also deployed their river technology, the Interceptor, in two locations in 2019, revealed the project publicly in October 2019, and deployed another in 2020. In 2021, they announced that the prototype testing of System 002 was successful.
In 2022, the first Interceptor Original deployed in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was installed at
Ballona Creek
Ballona Creek (pronunciation: “Bah-yo-nuh” or “Buy-yo-nah”
) is an channelized stream in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was once a “year-round river lined with sycamores and willows.” Ballona Creek ...
near
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
The organization conducts scientific research into oceanic plastic pollution. It was founded in 2013 by
Boyan Slat
Boyan Slat (born 27 July 1994) is a Dutch inventor and entrepreneur. A former aerospace engineering student, he is the CEO of The Ocean Cleanup.
Initial interest in plastic pollution
In 2011, aged 16, Slat found more plastic than fish while div ...
, a Dutch-born inventor-
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
n and Dutch origin who serves as its CEO. It has conducted two expeditions to the
North Pacific Gyre
The North Pacific Gyre (NPG) or North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), located in the northern Pacific Ocean, is one of the five major oceanic gyres. This gyre covers most of the northern Pacific Ocean. It is the largest ecosystem on Earth, locate ...
, the Mega Expedition and the Aerial Expedition, and continues to publish scientific papers. Their ocean system consists of a floating barrier at the surface of the water in the
oceanic gyres, that collects
marine debris
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in a sea or ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing ...
as the system is pushed by wind, waves and current, and slowed down by a sea anchor. The project aims to launch a total of 60 such systems, and they predict this capability could clean up 50% of the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years from full scale deployment.
In late October 2019, the organization announced a new initiative, the Interceptor, which would aim to drastically reduce the amount of plastic flowing into the oceans from rivers, with Slat explaining how "1% of rivers are responsible for 80% of the pollution in the world's seas".
History
![Boyan Slat (2018)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Boyan_Slat_%282018%29.jpg)
Boyan Slat proposed the cleanup project and supporting system in 2012. In October, Slat outlined the project in a
TED-talk. The initial design consisted of long, floating barriers fixed to the seabed, attached to a central platform shaped like a
manta ray
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular Pectoral fin#AnchPect ...
for stability. The barriers would direct the floating plastic to the central platform, which would remove the plastic from the water. Slat did not specify the dimensions of this system in the talk.
2014
In 2014, the design was revised, replacing the central platform with a tower detached from the floating barriers. This platform would collect the plastic using a
conveyor belt
A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...
. The floating barrier was proposed to be 100 km long. They also conducted and published their feasibility study. In 2015, this design won the London
Design Museum
The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...
Design of the Year,
and the
INDEX: Award.
2015
In 2015,
scale model
A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...
tests were conducted in controlled environments.
Tests took place in wave pools at Deltares and
MARIN
Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to:
People
* Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname
* MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...
. The purpose was to test the dynamics and load of the barrier, when exposed to currents and waves, and to gather data for continued computational modeling.
2016
A 100-metre segment went through a test in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
, off the coast of the Netherlands in the summer of 2016.
The purpose was to test the endurance of the materials chosen and the connections between elements. The test indicated that conventional
oil containment booms could not endure the harsh environments the system would face. They changed the floater material to a hard-walled
HDPE
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the monomer ethylene. It is sometimes called "alkathene" or "polythene" when used for HDPE pipes. With a high strength-to-density ratio, ...
pipe, which is flexible enough to follow the waves, and rigid enough to maintain its open U-shape. More prototypes were deployed to test component endurance.
On May 11, 2017, The Ocean Cleanup announced new design changes and their plan to test their new drifting system in the North Pacific in 2017.
2017
In May 2017, significant changes to the design were made:
* The dimensions were drastically reduced, from 100 km to . The Ocean Cleanup suggested using a fleet of approximately 60 such systems.
* The seabed anchors were replaced with
sea anchor
A sea anchor (also known as a parachute anchor, drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor or boat brake) is a device that is streamed from a boat in heavy weather. Its purpose is to stabilize the vessel and to limit progress through the water. ...
s, allowing it to drift with the currents, but moving more slowly. This allowed the plastic to "catch up" with the cleanup system. The lines to the anchor would keep the system in a U-shape. This design allows the system to drift to locations with the highest concentration of debris.
* An automatic system for collecting the plastic was dropped. Instead, the system would concentrate the plastic before removal by support vessels.
2018
The Ocean Cleanup performed more scale model tests in 2018. The sea anchors were removed because the wind moved the system faster than the plastic. The opening of the U would face the direction of travel, which would be achieved by having the underwater screen deeper in the middle of the system, creating more drag.
On September 9, 2018, ''System 001'' (nicknamed ''Wilson'' in reference to the floating volleyball in the 2000 film ''
Cast Away
''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in ...
)''
deployed from San Francisco. The ship ''Maersk Launcher'' towed the system to a position 240 nautical miles off the coast, where it was put through a series of sea trials. It consisted of a long barrier with a wide skirt hanging beneath it. It is made from
HDPE
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the monomer ethylene. It is sometimes called "alkathene" or "polythene" when used for HDPE pipes. With a high strength-to-density ratio, ...
, and consists of 50x12 m sections joined. It was unmanned and incorporates solar-powered monitoring and navigation systems, including GPS, cameras, lanterns and
AIS AIS may refer to:
Medicine
* Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries
* Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke
* Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...
. The barrier and the screen mounting were produced in Austria by an
Austrian supplier.
When the tests were complete, and the organization deemed it okay to move forward, it was towed to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for real-world duty. It arrived on October 16, 2018, and was deployed in operational configuration. ''System 001'' encountered difficulties retaining the plastic collected. The system collected debris, but soon lost it because the barrier did not retain a consistent speed through the water.
In November, the project attempted to widen the mouth of the U by 60-70m but failed.
In late December, mechanical stress caused an 18-meter section to detach. Shortly thereafter, the rig began its journey to Hawaii for inspection and repair. During the two months of operation, the system had captured some 2,000 kg of plastic.
2019
![Floating barrier top view new](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Floating_barrier_top_view_new.svg)
In mid-January 2019, the Wilson system completed its 800-mile journey and arrived in Hilo Bay, Hawaii. The Ocean Cleanup planned to return the repaired system to duty by summer. In mid-June, after four months of root cause analyses and redesign, a new revamped testing system (001/B) was deployed. In August, the team announced that after trying multiple alternatives, a water-borne parachute attached to slow the system, and expanding the cork line used to hold the screen in place would be tested.
In October they announced that the new system successfully captured and collected plastic, and even
microplastics
Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than in length, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Chemicals Agency. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a v ...
.
The model was also more efficient and smaller, making offshore adjustments possible.
In June 2019, they deployed System 001/B, a smaller test system. They tested speeding up the system with a string of inflatable buoys installed across the system's opening, and slowing down the system with a parachute sea anchor. The sea anchor was found to best capture plastic. This edition used simpler connections between the barrier and skirt, eliminated stabilizing structures and reduced the barrier size by two-thirds.
In October, The Ocean Cleanup unveiled their new river cleanup technology, The Interceptor, the first scalable solution to intercept river plastic and prevent it from reaching the ocean. Two systems were deployed in Jakarta (Indonesia) and Klang (Malaysia).
2020
In January, extreme flooding broke the barrier of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta. Although this was part of the design to reduce the force on the whole structure, the barrier was replaced with a newer model that has a stronger screen, simpler design, and an adjustable better-defined weak link.
In August, the third Interceptor was deployed in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic.
In December, The Ocean Cleanup announced that production of the Interceptor series was to begin for global scale-up.
On October 24, they launched their first product made from plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses, with funding going to their continued cleanup. They worked with DNV GL to develop a certification for plastic from water sources and the sunglasses were certified to originate from the GPGP.
2021
In July 2021, a new design called System 002, also known as "Jenny", was deployed in the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch for testing.
In October, the organization announced that the system had gathered of trash. In October, the project announced plans for System 003, which will span .
2022
In July 2022, the Ocean Cleanup announced that an Interceptor Original would be deployed near the mouth of
Ballona Creek
Ballona Creek (pronunciation: “Bah-yo-nuh” or “Buy-yo-nah”
) is an channelized stream in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was once a “year-round river lined with sycamores and willows.” Ballona Creek ...
in southwestern
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...
. It is the first Interceptor Original installed in the United States, and the second 3rd generation Interceptor Original to be deployed globally.
On 25 July 2022, the project announced that it had removed more than 100,000 kg of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch using its "System 002"
and announced the beginning of its transition to the new "System 03", purportedly 10 times as effective as its predecessor. System 03 uses long u-shaped barriers towed by boats, with a skirt.
Design
Ocean system
![Floating barrier side view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Floating_barrier_side_view.svg)
The latest Jenny design uses a towed, floating structure. The structure acts as a
containment boom
A containment boom is a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill. Booms are used to reduce the possibility of polluting shorelines and other resources, and to help make recovery easier. Booms help to concentrate oil in thicker sur ...
. A permeable screen underneath the float catches subsurface debris.
It incorporated an barrier and added active propulsion to allow the system to operate at higher speed. Crewed boats tow the U-shaped barrier through the water at 1.5 knots. The ship can also be steered to areas with higher waste densities.
In July 2022, the floating system reached the milestone of 100,000 kg of plastic removed from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
River system
The Interceptor is a solar-powered, automated system designed to capture and extract waste. Along with an optimized water flow path, a barrier guides rubbish towards the opening of the Interceptor and onto the conveyor belt, which delivers waste to the shuttle. The shuttle deposits the waste equally into one of six bins according to sensors. When the bins are almost full, local operators are informed with an automated message, who then empty them and send the waste to local waste management facilities. The Interceptor project is similar to a smaller-scale local project called
Mr. Trash Wheel
Mr. Trash Wheel, officially called the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, is a trash interceptor, a vessel that removes trash from the Jones Falls river as it empties into the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. It is powered by water power, water wheels ...
developed in Maryland's
Baltimore harbor
Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...
. In 2021, The Ocean Cleanup announced they are expanding their portfolio of Interceptor technologies to be able to tackle a wider range of rivers.
System deployments
Research
Oceanic expeditions
In August 2015, The Ocean Cleanup conducted its so-called ''Mega Expedition'', in which a fleet of approximately 30 vessels, including lead ship
R/V ''Ocean Starr'', crossed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and mapped an area of 3.5 million square kilometers. The expedition collected data on the size, concentration and total mass of the plastic in the patch. According to the organization, this expedition collected more data on oceanic plastic pollution than the last 40 years combined.
In September and October 2016, The Ocean Cleanup launched its ''Aerial Expedition'', in which a
C-130 Hercules aircraft conducted the first ever series of
aerial survey
Aerial survey is a method of collecting geomatics or other imagery by using airplanes, helicopters, UAVs, balloons or other aerial methods. Typical types of data collected include aerial photography, Lidar, remote sensing (using various visible ...
s to map the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The goal was specifically to quantify the amount of large debris, including
ghosts nets in the patch. Slat stated that the crew saw a lot more debris than expected.
The project released an app called ''The Ocean Cleanup Survey App'', which enables others to survey the ocean for plastic, and report their observations to The Ocean Cleanup.
Scientific findings
In February 2015, the research team published a study in ''
Biogeosciences
''Biogeosciences'' is an open-access peer-reviewed scientific journal of the European Geosciences Union launched in 2004 by editors-in-chief Jean-Pierre Gattuso and Jürgen Kesselmeier. It covers all aspects of the interactions between the biolo ...
'' about the vertical distribution of plastic, based on samples collected in the
North Atlantic Gyre
The North Atlantic Gyre of the Atlantic Ocean is one of five great oceanic gyres. It is a circular ocean current, with offshoot eddies and sub-gyres, across the North Atlantic from the Intertropical Convergence Zone (calms or doldrums) to the part ...
. They found that the plastic concentration decreases
exponentially
Exponential may refer to any of several mathematical topics related to exponentiation, including:
*Exponential function, also:
**Matrix exponential, the matrix analogue to the above
* Exponential decay, decrease at a rate proportional to value
*Exp ...
with depth, with the highest concentration at the surface, and approaching zero just a few meters deeper.
A follow-up paper was published in ''
Scientific Reports
''Scientific Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess solely th ...
'' in October 2016.
In June 2017, researchers published a paper in ''
Nature Communications
''Nature Communications'' is a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio since 2010. It is a multidisciplinary journal and it covers the natural sciences, including physics, chemistry, earth sciences, medicine, ...
'', with a model of the river plastic input into the ocean. Their model estimates that between 1.15 and 2.41 million metric tonnes of plastic enter the world's oceans every year, with 86% of the input stemming from rivers in Asia.
In December 2017, they published a paper in ''
Environmental Science & Technology
''Environmental Science & Technology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published since 1967 by the American Chemical Society. It covers research in environmental science and environmental technology, including environmental policy. ...
'' about pollutants in oceanic plastic, based upon data from the Mega Expedition. They found that 84% of their plastic samples had at least one
persistent organic pollutant
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), sometimes known as "forever chemicals", are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. They are toxic chemicals that adversely ...
in them exceeding safe levels. Furthermore, they found 180 times more plastic than naturally occurring biomass on the surface in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
On March 22, 2018, The Ocean Cleanup published a paper in ''Scientific Reports'', summarizing the combined findings from the Mega- and Aerial Expedition. They estimate that the Patch contains 1.8 trillion pieces of floating plastic, with a total mass of 79,000 metric tonnes.
Microplastics
Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than in length, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Chemicals Agency. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a v ...
(< 0.5 cm) make up 94% of the pieces, accounting for 8% of the mass. The study suggests that the amount of plastic in the patch increased exponentially since 1970.
In September 2019, they published a paper in Scientific Reports looking into the explanation of why emissions into the ocean are higher than the debris accumulated at the surface layer of the ocean. They argue that debris circulation dynamics can offer an explanation for this missing plastic and suggest that there is a significant amount of time between the initial emissions and accumulation offshore. The study indicates that current microplastics are mostly a result of the degradations of plastic produced in the 1990s or before.
In October 2019, when research revealed most
ocean plastic pollution comes from Chinese cargo ships, a spokesperson from The Ocean Cleanup said: "Everyone talks about saving the oceans by stopping using plastic bags, straws and single use packaging. That's important, but when we head out on the ocean, that's not necessarily what we find."
In May 2020, they released a paper in Scientific Reports showing that part of the plastic at the surface of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is breaking down into microplastics and sinking to the deep sea. Most debris is still found at the surface, with 90% in the first 5 meters.
Funding
The Ocean Cleanup is mainly funded by donations and in-kind sponsors, including Maersk,
Salesforce.com
Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, an ...
chief executive
Marc Benioff
Marc Russell Benioff (born September 25, 1964) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, an enterprise cloud computing company. In September 2018, Benioff acquired ''Time''.
...
,
Julius Baer
Julius Bär Group AG, known alternatively as Julius Baer Group Ltd., is a private banking corporation founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it is among the older Swiss banking institutions. In terms of assets under managemen ...
Foundation and
Royal DSM. The Ocean Cleanup raised over 2 million USD with the help of a
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
campaign in 2014.
In October 2020, they unveiled their first product made from plastic certified from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses, to help fund the continuation of the cleanup.
Criticism
Criticisms and doubts about method, feasibility, efficiency and return on investment have been raised in the scientific community about the project. These include:
* Miriam Goldstein, director of ocean policy at the
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The president and chief executive officer ...
, whose Ph.D. covered the Pacific Garbage Patch, stated that devices closer to shore are easier to maintain, and would likely recover more plastic per dollar spent overall.
* The device could imperil sea life.
In particular, the gyres host
neustons, communities of pleustons,
Portuguese man-of-war,
sea snails
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...
, and the sail jellyfish that live near the ocean surface.
*The approach by itself cannot solve the whole problem. Plastic in the oceans is spread far beyond the gyres; experts estimate that less than 5% of all the plastic pollution which enters the oceans makes its way into any of the garbage patches. Much of the plastic that does is not floating at the surface.
Recognition
The project and its founder have been recognized in many fora.
* 2014
Champion of the Earth – The
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
.
* One of the 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide – Intel EYE50.
* 2015 Maritime Young Entrepreneur Award.
* In 2015, the Array was named as a London
Design Museum
The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...
Design of the Year.
[Winners announced for three Nor-Shipping 2015 Awards](_blank)
Mynewsdesk.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.[Designs of the Year 2015](_blank)
, Designmuseum.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
* 2015
INDEX: Award.
* 2015 Fast Company Innovation By Design Award in the category Social Good.
* 2015 100 Global Thinkers 0 ''
Foreign Policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
''.
* 2016 Katerva award.
* 2017 Norwegian Shipowners' Association's
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography.
Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...
award.
See also
*
4Ocean
4Ocean is a for-profit company founded in Boca Raton, Florida, in 2017. 4Ocean retails bracelets made from recycled materials, as well as apparel and other merchandise for which the materials are environmentally- and socially responsibly sourced ...
*
Earth Day
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...
*
Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
*
Junk raft
A junk raft is a type of home-built watercraft made of plastic bottles or other recycled materials constructed by artists and community-minded groups organizing recreational flotillas, or by environmentally concerned individuals seeking to draw att ...
*
Kamilo Beach
Kamilo Beach (literally, ''the twisting'' or ''swirling currents''Clark, John R. K. (1985), ''Beaches of the Big Island'', University of Hawaii Press,
, p. 69 in Hawaiian), is a beach located on the southeast coast of the island of Hawaii. It is ...
*
Marine conservation
Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is in ...
*
Marine debris
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in a sea or ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing ...
*
National Cleanup Day
*
Ocean Conservancy
Ocean Conservancy (founded as The Delta Corporation) is a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States. The organization formulates ocean policy at the federal and state government levels based on peer review ...
*
Plastic recycling
Plastic recycling is the reprocessing of plastic waste into new products. When performed correctly, this can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
A ...
* ''
Plastiki
The ''Plastiki'' is a catamaran made out of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled PET plastic and waste products. Michael Pawlyn of Exploration Architecture worked on the concept design with David de Rothschild and helped to shap ...
''
*
Project Kaisei
Project Kaisei (from 海星, ''kaisei'', "ocean planet" in Japanese) is a scientific and commercial mission to study and clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large body of floating debris trapped in the Pacific Ocean by the currents of t ...
*
SUPER HI-CAT
C-MORE: SUPER HI-CAT (Center for Microbial Oceanography- Research and Education: Survey of Underwater Plastic Ecosystem Response Hawaii to California Transit)
The SUPER HI-CAT research cruise was the first effort to study the microbial communiti ...
*
World Cleanup Day
World Cleanup Day is an annual global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. It is coordinated by the global organization Let's Do It! World, the headquarters is located i ...
References
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Cleanup, The
Ocean pollution
Plastics and the environment
Litter
Organisations based in South Holland
Conservation and environmental foundations
Environmental organizations established in 2013