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- After six years of development and three years of extraction operations, The Ocean Cleanup declares the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can be eliminated
- Ocean plastic pollution is one of the most urgent problems our oceans face today, costing the world up to $2.5 trillion per year in damage to economies, industries, and the environment
- The Ocean Cleanup’s operations demonstrate that the elimination of the GPGP can be done at today’s level of performance in 10 years at a cost of $7.5bn
- Data and modelling indicate that the removal of the GPGP could be achieved in 5 years at a cost of $4bn
- Today, we call upon the world to join us in a time for action – the cost of inaction is catastrophic to marine ecosystems, human health, and the environment
San Francisco, September 6, 2024 – The Ocean Cleanup today declared the eradication of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) achievable within a decade and an ambition to make the cleanup happen faster and more cost-effectively. Today’s announcement is the first time both a cost and a timeline has been placed on ridding the Pacific Ocean of the environmental hazard presented by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
CLEANUP TECHNOLOGY VALIDATED AND READY FOR SCALE-UP
Six years after sailing out of San Francisco with the ambition of developing the technology to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup returned to San Francisco with the knowledge and know-how to relegate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the history books.
Arriving in San Francisco with System 03, the technology created by The Ocean Cleanup to extract plastic from ocean gyres, the organization showcased the results of their most recent extraction operations in the GPGP. Over the past three years, The Ocean Cleanup has removed more than one million pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or 0.5% of the total accumulated trash. The data and modeling of these and future operations conclusively prove that the problem is solvable within a decade and could be done in 5 years at a cost of $4bn.
TIME FOR ACTION
The Ocean Cleanup calls upon the world, governments, corporations, individuals, and foundations to prioritize the resolution of this important marine environment and ensure that the cleaning of the ocean becomes a global priority.
In 2025, The Ocean Cleanup will take a one-year operational hiatus in order to deploy a new hotspot hunting initiative designed to map the “hotspots,” or areas of intense plastic accumulation in the GPGP, making extractions more impactful.
Commenting on the announcement, Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, said: “Today’s announcement is clear: clean oceans can be achieved in a manageable time and for a clear cost. Through the hard work of the past 10 years, humanity has the tools needed to clean up the ocean. We have shown the world that the impossible is now possible. The only missing thing is who will ensure this job gets done. We call upon the world to relegate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the history books. This environmental catastrophe has been allowed to exist, unresolved, for too long, and for the first time, we can tell the world what it costs, what is needed and how long it could take. It is time for action.”
ABOUT THE OCEAN CLEANUP
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: intercepting in rivers to stop the flow and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops and deploys large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the inflow, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract plastic in rivers before it reaches the ocean. As of August 2024, the non-profit has collected over 16 million kilograms (35.3 million pounds) of trash from aquatic ecosystems around the world. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and opened its first regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2023.
PRESS CONTACTS
CFF Communications, Amsterdam
Niels Broekhof
press@theoceancleanup.com
+31 (0)6 30 37 49 30
U.S. Media Representative, San Francisco
Alan Dunton
adunton@shiftcomm.com
+1 415-290-8219
For more information visit theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
