Ocean Cleanup project

The Ocean Cleanup team is reporting to have overcome a significant stumbling block, using a novel parachute-anchor mechanism to correct speed-related troubles plaguing its earlier approach to ocean-going garbage collection. ​

​​After a stint on the sidelines, The Ocean Cleanup Project is bouncing back into action following a few upgrades, with the team now hopeful it has a system better equipped to take on the massive task of plastic pollution in the ocean.​

Things aren't exactly going to plan for the Ocean Cleanup Project. Inspections of the approximately 600-meter-long barrier have uncovered a problematic break in the chain, prompting a return to shore for repairs.

​Around six weeks have passed since the Ocean Cleanup Project installed its trash-catching system in the Pacific, and it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the huge floating barrier so far. The team reports that attempts to overcome some initial teething problems haven’t exactly gone to plan

With the Ocean Cleanup Project's first system entering service in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch one month ago, there are some good signs and some bad, including an apparent inability of the huge floating barrier to retain plastic trash for very long after it is caught.

​It has been a long journey for the Ocean Cleanup Project, but after years of development and a 1,300-plus-mile trip through the open water, its first system is now installed at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the single biggest accumulation of ocean plastics in the world.

The Ocean Cleanup project has been experimenting with a new technique to fill in some of the blanks and has, what it says, is the first proof of concept for using a form of infrared imagery to quantify marine plastic pollution. ​

The Ocean Cleanup Project’s long-awaited collection system has been launched and is now en route for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, ready to chip away at the largest accumulation of ocean plastics in the world.

​​After more than five years of development, the moment of truth is fast arriving for the Ocean Cleanup Project. Team members added the finishing touches to the trash-catching system over the weekend, with less than a week to go until it is towed out towards the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. ​

​The Ocean Cleanup’s trash-collecting barriers have been through a number of iterations since their conception around five years ago. The latest cleverly harnesses the power of wind and surface waves to autonomously sweep through the area, gathering up plastic waste as it goes.

​​The Ocean Cleanup Project is edging ever closer to the rollout of its first plastic collection barriers, and is increasingly confident that it can make the journey, with the latest testing indicating that can stand up to stormy ocean conditions. ​

The Ocean Cleanup project has been busy knocking up its first barriers since moving into an old naval base earlier this year, and now it's in the process of seeing how the first pieces of the puzzle stand up in the Pacific Ocean.