The prototype floating “Ocean Cleanup Array” will be deployed about 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) off the Dutch coast in the North Sea where it will stay for one year.
There the oceanic barrier will undergo sensor-monitor tests centered around the barrier’s resilience in withstanding harsh or extreme weather events rather than its ability to corral trash. Ocean Cleanup says the sensors on the 100-meter (328 feet) long vulcanized rubber barrier will detect the motion of the barrier as well as the loads it is subjected to.
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— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) June 22, 2016
The information will allow engineers to develop a fully-resistant system able to withstand any and all conditions. “At the North Sea test site, conditions during a minor storm are more severe than those in exceptionally heavy storms (occurring once every 100 years) in the Pacific Ocean,” the organization said.
According to EcoWatch, the barrier is a passive means of corralling the ocean’s trash into a V-shaped cone, using only the ocean’s natural currents. The whole structure is anchored in place at a depth of 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) by a cable sub-system.
The technology behind Ocean Cleanup
The technology involved is very simple. In a story in Digital Journal in June 2015, the technology was explained this way: “Instead of going after the plastics, which are in every one of the world’s oceans, we devised an array of long floating barriers to let the ocean currents concentrate the plastic itself. The system of floating barriers is over a mile long. The barriers trap any floating plastic debris, which is then picked up using a conveyor belt.”
Extensive computer modeling and scale model testing by the Deltares research institute and in the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) offshore basin facility were conducted in preparation for the North Sea test.
The ocean currents and sea life are allowed to pass underneath the structure. No marine life is harmed and because the structure is passive, plastics are channeled toward the center of the array where a center platform is located to store the trash for later extraction and disposal on land, reports Resource, a news site for the waste to resources industry.
A ‘key step towards plastic free oceans’
Boyan Slat first became interested in cleaning up the oceans while diving off the coast of Greece when he was 16-years-old. In 2012, he decided to make his intentions public. One year later, he founded and is the CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, a group with the express purpose of developing technologies to extract, prevent, and intercept plastic pollution, and now, we are at the threshold.
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— Nieuws EZ (@nieuwsez) June 22, 2016
Slat also has the Dutch government behind his project.
“The Ocean Cleanup is an inspiring example of how we can tackle the growing problem of ocean pollution,” Dutch Environment Minister Sharon Dijksma said. “I hope that with the help of the Dutch government, Boyan’s prototype will turn out to be the successful solution for cleaning up the mid-ocean gyres. This is crucial to prevent permanent damage to the environment and marine life, due to the degradation and fragmentation of plastic waste materials.”
While some experts have written off Boyan’s idea, saying there are no islands of plastic, but a “smog of plastics that pervade the oceans,” Boyan is still optimistic. He wrote a 530-page feasibility report composed of 70 scientists and engineers to quiet his critics. The report concluded that the concept “is indeed likely a feasible and viable ocean cleanup technique.” Their conclusion has also been peer-reviewed by external experts, Slat attested in a blog post.
