Young creates project to remove debris from the oceans in just 5 years
Just go to any beach to notice that pollution of rivers and oceans has reached unimaginable levels. Packaging, bags and many other types of plastic are already - unfortunately - part of the landscape of some beaches around the world.
Thinking about changing that reality a bit, Dutch student Boyan Slat has created a project called The Ocean Cleanup that, if feasible, can remove millions of tons of debris in just 5 years. The main objective of the project is to develop a platform that would collect all the dirt spread in the oceans without causing damage to the fauna.
The problem
Excessive plastic consumption and marine incidents - such as the breaking of offshore loading containers - are some of the factors responsible for ocean pollution. In studies conducted by the engineering student, Boyan Slat concluded that the highest concentration of debris is located in 5 major areas.
If humanity does not take any action to reverse this situation, the risk we face is the death of thousands of aquatic species, in addition to the transport of harmful substances, which could eventually reach the food chain and contaminate the population. Another important point is that pollution generates high costs for government and industry, which loses the chance to exploit tourism and must constantly restore damage to vessels.
Controlling people's consumption of plastic is part of the solution to the problem. However, this will not make the debris already deposited in the oceans disappear. For this reason, cleaning the waters is the most urgent need.
The project
Gathering his engineering, environmental and technology expertise, Boyan Slat may have found a way out of this major environmental problem. After doing some tests and collecting sea debris, the student's goal is to develop a device that can collect the dirt so that it can be brought to land and reused.
Named for Ocean Cleanup Array, the machine would be shaped like a stingray and would be equipped with containment barriers. According to the project website, barriers are more effective than nets and pose less risk to marine life.
To lower costs and increase device efficiency, the project envisages the platform being self-sustaining, running on energy from the sun, currents and waves. The shape ensures constant machine contact with the water surface.
The future
His research - which is explained in more detail in his lecture at TEDx - estimates that we will have 7.25 million tons of plastic to collect from the oceans by 2020, which is a thousand times the weight of the floating Eiffel Tower. in the marine currents. While some researchers argue that it would take 79, 000 years to reverse this problem, Boyan Slat believes in clearing the oceans in just 5 years with some of these platforms working in different parts of the world.
If all the plastic taken from the water was sold, it could yield $ 500 million, which covers the value of the project and still generates profit. The project website points out that the proposal is being studied and a number of factors still need to be analyzed to ensure that the project is executable. In the meantime, we are cheering for this idea not to die on the beach.
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