How is The Ocean Cleanup project tackling ocean plastic pollution?

The answer

The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat in 2013 when he was 18, uses passive floating barriers to concentrate and extract plastic from ocean garbage patches. By late 2024, the organization had removed over 11 million kilograms of trash from oceans and rivers combined. Their System 03 barrier in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch spans 2,200 meters and can capture plastics as small as one centimeter. The project also deploys Interceptors in polluted rivers across Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic, targeting the sources before plastic reaches the sea. Critics note that prevention and reducing production remain more effective long-term solutions.