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19-year-old Dutch engineering student Boyan Slat devises plan to rid the worlds oceans of 7.25 million tons of plastic
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of New York Daily News
Posted: February 11th, 2014
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/plan-aims-rid-oceans-7...
A 19-year-old Dutch aerospace engineering student has come up with what he believes is a way to remove millions of pounds of plastic trash from the worlds oceans. Dubbed the Ocean Cleanup Array, Boyan Slats concept involves anchoring 24 sifters to the ocean floor and letting the seas own currents direct the plastic bits into miles of booms, or connected chains of timbers used to catch floating objects. It will be very hard to convince everyone in the world to handle their plastics responsibly, but what we humans are very good in, is inventing technical solutions to our problems, Slat said on his website. Powered by the sun and ocean currents, the Ocean Cleanup Array network aims to have as little impact on sea life as possible while sifting out some 7.25 million tons of plastic over the course of just five years. The bulk of the ray-shaped sifters and booms would be set up at the edges of the five swirling ocean gyres to trap the most plastic particles possible. Able to function in high seas and rough weather, the booms would trap floating plastic bits, then suck them into a trash sifter. Once the plastic is retrieved, Slat envisions, it will be brought ashore and sold. We estimate that by selling the plastic retrieved from the 5 gyres, we would make in fact more money than the plan would cost to execute. In other words; it's profitable, Slats website states. [Slat] founded The Ocean Cleanup Foundation earlier this year and is looking to partner with plankton biologists, engineers, and, of course, philanthropists to turn his dream into a reality.
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