Summary Draft 2 - Ocean Cleanup Machine

Summary draft 2

In the article, “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Cleanup Machine Is Real”, Schiller (2017) has reported how Boyan Slat’s improved “Ocean Cleanup” system will effectively collect half of all polymer waste in the “Pacific Garbage Patch” within the next half a decade.

Within the last six years, Slat’s design was upgraded to use large booms that utilise floating anchors. According to Slat’s calculations, the design will be more cost and time effective in order to collect a larger amount of polymer waste within half a decade. This is because “foundations” to the seabed and the “prototyping state” are not needed.

Slat’s design enables the booms to drift with the ocean currents and collect polymer waste “towards the center the system”. According to Slat, the system will continue to function if a component fails.

In 2018, Slat aims to collect “tens of thousands of tons” of waste while manually removing waste from the system every 30 days. It is stated by Slat that assessments was done to study how the system operations affect the ecosystem. Slat aims to recycle the polymer waste collected, and to receive sponsorships from external companies”. 

Reference list:

Ben Schiller. (2011). “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Cleanup Machine Is Real”.

Retrieved January 21, 2020 from https://www.fastcompany.com/40419899/boy-genius-boyan-slats-giant-ocean-cleanup-machine-is-real