20-Year-Old to Deploy Ocean Cleaning Structure
Photo credit: plasticoceans.net
Mark Zuckerberg became a billionaire at 23 years old. Bill Gates was only 17 when he formed a venture to make traffic counters based on the Intel 8008 processor.
Twenty-year-old Boyan Slat is no different. As founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, Slat just announced that in 2016, the world’s first system to clean plastic pollution will be deployed.
Photo credit: The Ocean Cleanup on Facebook
At 2,000 meters, it will be the longest floating structure in the ocean. Current research is trying to determine if the plastic pollution cleaned out of the ocean at its current location in the Pacific Ocean near Japan can be used as alternate energy.
The ocean cleaning platform will be operation for at least two years.
Photo credit: The Ocean Cleanup on Facebook
If successful, the group plans to deploy even more structures in more location, and targeting the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between Hawaii and California.
“Taking care of the world’s ocean garbage problem is one of the largest environmental challenges mankind faces today,” Slat said. “Not only will this first cleanup array contribute to cleaner waters and coasts, but it simultaneously is an essential step towards our goal of cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This deployment will enable us to study the system’s efficiency and durability over time.”
