The Cleanup Project, back from its Pacific cleanup pilot campaign, has unveiled its first mission, which will involve redeploying the System 002 assembly barrier while developing an even larger barrier. It is he who will absorb up to 50% of all garbage that is in a large garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean. This was reported in the project management.
Launched in 2013, the Ocean Cleanup Project has undergone a number of changes ahead of the launch of System 002 this August. The barrier, nicknamed “Jenny”, is 800 meters long and includes ships with a crew at both ends. They are the ones who drag the barrier through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
While Jenny continues to collect trash, the project team has begun work on another system, which will be three times larger – the length of the barrier will be 2.5 km. It will serve as the prototype for a fleet of 10 System 003s that will be able to clean 50% of debris every five years.
But despite advances in technology, many have questions about the overall viability of Ocean Cleanup’s plans and the project’s environmental impact. Maersk, which provides ships for towing sewage treatment systems, is experimenting with carbon neutral fuels. The company claims that all carbon emissions from the System 002 campaign will be offset.
The pilot phase of testing the treatment barrier ended with environmentalists collecting nearly 29 tons of plastic waste from the ocean, including toilet seats, toothbrushes, discarded fishing gear, laundry baskets and other items, 95% of which the project intends to recycle.
