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Learning Portfolio: Summary & Reader Response - Ocean Cleanup (Final)

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 the overall polymer waste in the “Pacific Garbage Patch” within the next half a decade.

Schiller mentions that Slat’s design was upgraded to use large booms that utilise floating anchors. As the anchors need not be fixed to the seabed, the design will be more cost and time effective to collect a larger amount of polymer waste within half a decade. This new design will collect polymer waste more efficiently.

Slat’s design enables the booms to drift with the ocean currents and collect polymer waste “towards the centre of the system”. Slat assures that the device will function despite component failure. In 2018, Slat aims to collect “tens of thousands of tons” of waste while removing waste from the system periodically. Slat claims he has assessed how the system operations affect the ecosystem. Slat aims to recycle polymer waste collected into recycled products.


Although Slat’s idea to clean up the oceans works by theory, it shows a lack of feasibility in practice. This is evident by its device failures, practicality constraints and negligence to account for all marine life.

Ocean Cleanup Project (OCP) has shown its first failure just four months after launching their first mission. Rainy (2019) reported that the device faced fracture failure as a result of surrounding ocean currents and winds. Operations to repair the system required transport to bring it back to shore, where it can be inspected and repairs can be executed by mechanics and engineers. As a result, more funds were incurred to repair the damage. This fracture could have been avoided if OCP had done extensive calculations and simulations on the effects of tidal forces. The fracture has proved that the project had not taken into account the unpredictable natural conditions present in the ocean.

OCP has also shown that their project is currently being constrained with too many problems. In a promotional video for OCP (CNET, 2018), OCP’s COO Lonneke Holierhoek mentioned that the collection time for polymers is very sensitive as polymers will deteriorate into smaller fragments, making it more difficult to be collected. This implies that the system has a limited time window to collect waste. According to Boffey (2019), Slat aims to expand his device such that it can retain polymers for at least a year. The idea for expansion is improbable given that his initial idea was flawed. Instead, OCP should have focused on managing and solving their current issues, before tackling new challenges.

Despite having the intention to not compromise marine life while operating the device, OCP has failed to take account of all marine lifeforms. According to Guarino (2019), OCP assured the public that marine wildlife will not be trapped in the waste, as these animals can swim to avoid the waste. In the same article, Miriam Goldstein, Director of Ocean Policy at the Centre for American Progress, pointed out that animals such as “jellyfish and snails” float on the epipelagic zone, meaning it would not be possible for these animals to evade the waste collection system. This would suggest that the OCP system would be a danger to animals that fall within the same group. This shows high neglect on their part of the project, as every aspect of marine life is vital to our ecosystem. In the long run, this would lead to unnecessary deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of marine life that are unable to move on its own.

Despite its device failures, practicality constraints and negligence to marine life, OCP has made a noble effort to clean up the oceans. However, more improvement and research need to be done before it can change the world.


Reference list:


Boffey, D. (2019). “Ocean cleanup device successfully collects plastic for the first time.” The Guardian. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/03/ocean-cleanup-device-successfully-collects-plastic-for-first-time

CNET. (2018, September 10). The Ocean Cleanup launches to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch [Online video]. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYC4Q-0wcAc

Guarino, B. (2019). “Experts warned this floating garbage collector wouldn’t work. The ocean proved them right.” The Washington Post.

Rainy, J. (2019). “Ocean Cleanup device breaks down, well before ridding Pacific of plastics”. NBC News. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ocean-cleanup-device-breaks-down-well-ridding-pacific-plastics-n954446

Schiller, B. (2011). “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Cleanup Machine Is Real”. Fast Company. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.fastcompany.com/40419899/boy-genius-boyan-slats-giant-ocean-cleanup-machine-is-real



Edited on 3rd April 2020.

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