Barrier networks are designed to interact with natural ocean currents, funneling plastic debris towards a central point where the plastic can be extracted by a platform and stored for transportation and recycling If this technology is successful, it may be deployed by 2020 and the company estimates that in 10 years it could remove almost half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area in the central North Pacific Ocean where marine debris naturally concentrates because of sea currents. The floating barriers can only catch plastic wastes on the sea surface, which is a small part of the millions of tons that may have entered the oceans since the 1970s.
The Ocean Cleanup foundation was founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, a Dutch inventor-entrepreneur, and has received over $2.2 million in crowdfunding and financial contributions from large sponsors.
