Cleanup Array concept aims to rid the oceans of plastic waste

Environmental activism is an easy buzzword, but there are few true movers and shakers who are doing something in the realm of pollution reduction. Boyan Slat, an aerospace engineering student at the Delft University of Technology, is working to combine environmentalism, technology, and his creative outlook to rid our oceans of plastic debris. His Ocean Cleanup Project aims to utilize the oceans’ natural gyres (five circular currents in the oceans around the world – two in the Atlantic, two in the Pacific, and one in the Indian) to collect plastic waste.

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saw the turtles pic then remembered this article

CrazyNeutrino said:

Cleanup Array concept aims to rid the oceans of plastic waste

Environmental activism is an easy buzzword, but there are few true movers and shakers who are doing something in the realm of pollution reduction. Boyan Slat, an aerospace engineering student at the Delft University of Technology, is working to combine environmentalism, technology, and his creative outlook to rid our oceans of plastic debris. His Ocean Cleanup Project aims to utilize the oceans’ natural gyres (five circular currents in the oceans around the world – two in the Atlantic, two in the Pacific, and one in the Indian) to collect plastic waste.

more…

saw the turtles pic then remembered this article

I’ve never purchased a plastic six pack ring. That’s one way to avoid tossing them in the sea.

I wonder why there isn’t more ‘clean up the ocean attempts.. is the job so huge that it seems impossible? That massive float of garbage that travels around the pacific.. why can’t they go collect it? a financial thing maybe? who’s going to pay for who is doing it..

Arts said:

I wonder why there isn’t more ‘clean up the ocean attempts.. is the job so huge that it seems impossible? That massive float of garbage that travels around the pacific.. why can’t they go collect it? a financial thing maybe? who’s going to pay for who is doing it..

The plastics industry should pay.

Arts said:

I wonder why there isn’t more ‘clean up the ocean attempts.. is the job so huge that it seems impossible? That massive float of garbage that travels around the pacific.. why can’t they go collect it? a financial thing maybe? who’s going to pay for who is doing it..

And where will they put it?

roughbarked said:

Arts said:

I wonder why there isn’t more ‘clean up the ocean attempts.. is the job so huge that it seems impossible? That massive float of garbage that travels around the pacific.. why can’t they go collect it? a financial thing maybe? who’s going to pay for who is doing it..

The plastics industry should pay.

that;s like saying Mc Donalds should pay for all the obese people that eat their food.

from the link

Because the platforms would be stationary, utilizing the currents for capturing waste, they could be highly energy efficient, and ideally, self-supporting through harnessing solar energy or currents. This efficiency combined with the practice of selling the collected plastic could allow this concept to be not just economically neutral, but maybe even profitable.

looks like the plastic rubbish itself will pay for the cleanup

Divine Angel said:

Arts said:

I wonder why there isn’t more ‘clean up the ocean attempts.. is the job so huge that it seems impossible? That massive float of garbage that travels around the pacific.. why can’t they go collect it? a financial thing maybe? who’s going to pay for who is doing it..

And where will they put it?

Turn it back into something more sensibly usable.

The plastics industry should pay.

so the general population then?

the only way is for an international trust to be set up to cover costs.

Divine Angel said:

Arts said:

I wonder why there isn’t more ‘clean up the ocean attempts.. is the job so huge that it seems impossible? That massive float of garbage that travels around the pacific.. why can’t they go collect it? a financial thing maybe? who’s going to pay for who is doing it..

And where will they put it?

tell them to burn it all

I’m not sure where they would put it.. distribute it evenly amongst countries to get rid of? Send it into space? but there has to be somewhere better than in the middle of the ocean.

Boris said:

The plastics industry should pay.

so the general population then?

the only way is for an international trust to be set up to cover costs.

Yes but in the end it is the plastics industry that will need to and be making the profits.

recycle it into flower pots. it’ll be a mix of numbers so a high quality plastic it wont be. different plastics need different recycling procedures.

Arts said:

Divine Angel said:

Arts said:

I wonder why there isn’t more ‘clean up the ocean attempts.. is the job so huge that it seems impossible? That massive float of garbage that travels around the pacific.. why can’t they go collect it? a financial thing maybe? who’s going to pay for who is doing it..

And where will they put it?

tell them to burn it all

I’m not sure where they would put it.. distribute it evenly amongst countries to get rid of? Send it into space? but there has to be somewhere better than in the middle of the ocean.

We could do things like wrap it around NBN fibre and bury it.

If you burn it, you’ll have the climate change people boarding the outrage bus.

Boris said:

recycle it into flower pots. it’ll be a mix of numbers so a high quality plastic it wont be. different plastics need different recycling procedures.

The bulk of plastic in the sea is probably already made up of plant pots.

If we leave it long enough, we will run out of oil and have to get the plastic back.

The bulk of plastic in the sea is probably already made up of plant pots.

well good then eh? easier to recycle. but it probably isn’t.

Divine Angel said:

If you burn it, you’ll have the climate change people boarding the outrage bus.

that’s true.. can we de-construct plastics?

or if you can’t move or destroy it.. can we compact it and make it a useful island (that we could then use to dump garbage)

Arts said:

or if you can’t move or destroy it.. can we compact it and make it a useful island (that we could then use to dump garbage)

New twist in Survivor

Arts said:

Divine Angel said:

If you burn it, you’ll have the climate change people boarding the outrage bus.

that’s true.. can we de-construct plastics?

or if you can’t move or destroy it.. can we compact it and make it a useful island (that we could then use to dump garbage)

It is recyclable. However the longer we wait the more difficult it becomes.

that’s true.. can we de-construct plastics?

depends on the number. some are easy, some difficult and some no.

Divine Angel said:

Arts said:

or if you can’t move or destroy it.. can we compact it and make it a useful island (that we could then use to dump garbage)

New twist in Survivor

perfect.. make a determined reality TV show location. The producers can hire it out and have it hitched to whatever part of the world they like… all reality TV shows will be filmed there and once on the island you will not be allowed off until the end of filming.

There.. problem solved, I’ll let you nut out the details.

However the longer we wait the more difficult it becomes.

why?

Divine Angel said:

Arts said:

or if you can’t move or destroy it.. can we compact it and make it a useful island (that we could then use to dump garbage)

New twist in Survivor

We really need to rethink waste. It should never end up in the ocean. We should rethink plastics manufacture so that it is not throw away item.

Boris said:

However the longer we wait the more difficult it becomes.

why?

because it gets all mixed up and the pieces become smaller and smaller.

Arts said:

Divine Angel said:

Arts said:

or if you can’t move or destroy it.. can we compact it and make it a useful island (that we could then use to dump garbage)

New twist in Survivor

perfect.. make a determined reality TV show location. The producers can hire it out and have it hitched to whatever part of the world they like… all reality TV shows will be filmed there and once on the island you will not be allowed off until the end of filming.

There.. problem solved, I’ll let you nut out the details.

Producers of reality TV have oodles of money. That’s why this idea works bestest.

most of the plastic in the gyres is pretty small. people think of large objects because of the seabird deaths from eating some of this plastic. but they only go after the stuff that is the size of their normal prey.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-26/recycled-plastic-bags-might-have-medical-use/4981890

Boris said:

most of the plastic in the gyres is pretty small. people think of large objects because of the seabird deaths from eating some of this plastic. but they only go after the stuff that is the size of their normal prey.

most of the plastic is spilled plastic beads from the plastics manufacturing industry. This has been found to still end up in birds and fish guts.
.

roughbarked said:

Boris said:

most of the plastic in the gyres is pretty small. people think of large objects because of the seabird deaths from eating some of this plastic. but they only go after the stuff that is the size of their normal prey.

most of the plastic is spilled plastic beads from the plastics manufacturing industry. This has been found to still end up in birds and fish guts.
.

Most? In terms of volume, weight…?

Divine Angel said:

roughbarked said:

Boris said:

most of the plastic in the gyres is pretty small. people think of large objects because of the seabird deaths from eating some of this plastic. but they only go after the stuff that is the size of their normal prey.

most of the plastic is spilled plastic beads from the plastics manufacturing industry. This has been found to still end up in birds and fish guts.
.

Most? In terms of volume, weight…?

Um, it is a while since I looked but the proportions are huge, of the spilled beads. some beaches are up to 50% plastic beads.

Please don’t clean up flotsam on the deep ocean gyres. That’s where baby ocean-going fish and other small creatures hide from larger predators. The open ocean has less life than the most barren desert, except in these regions.

For example, a cleaning up of the “ocean waste” in the Sargasso Sea would more than decimate populations of both American and European eels.

mollwollfumble said:

Please don’t clean up flotsam on the deep ocean gyres. That’s where baby ocean-going fish and other small creatures hide from larger predators. The open ocean has less life than the most barren desert, except in these regions.

For example, a cleaning up of the “ocean waste” in the Sargasso Sea would more than decimate populations of both American and European eels.

Yes that’s another factor.