Shortly after the Dutch foundation The Ocean Cleanup announced that its System is appropriate to conduct a cleanup operation in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the team has now arrived at the scene aboard the ‘Maersk Launcher’ to tackle the world’s largest accumulation of ocean plastics.
Happening now: We have arrived at the deployment location in the heart of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and the crew is putting the system into its designated U-shape. The operation is going smoothly. More updates to come,
…the Dutch foundation said in a Twitter update.
As soon as The Ocean Cleanup completed cleanup trials in the Pacific in early October, the NGO conducted a meeting in Rotterdam to fully assess the current situation. After thorough evaluation and discussion, it was concluded that System 001 shall continue to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The trials showed that U-shape installation attained sufficient speed through water, something that means that it can move faster than the plastics, thus being able to capture it. What is more, it will be able to reorient if wind and wave direction change, keeping a steady state.
System 001 consists of a 600-meter-long (2000 ft) U-shaped floating barrier with a three-meter (10 ft) skirt attached below. The system is designed to be propelled by wind and waves, allowing it to passively catch and concentrate plastic debris in front of it.
Thanks to its shape, the debris will be funneled to the center of the system. Moving slightly faster than the plastic, the system will act like a giant Pac-Man, skimming the surface of the ocean.
