Boyan Slat “Human history is basically a list of things that couldn't be done, and then were done.” Boyan Slat (Delft, 1994) combines environmentalism, creativity and technology to tackle global issues of sustainability. Currently working on oceanic plastic pollution, he believes current prevention measures will have to be supplemented by active removal of plastics in order to succeed. “It will be very hard to convince everyone in the world to handle their plastics responsibly, but what we humans are very good in, is inventing technical solutions to our problems. And that’s what we’re doing.” Besides leading The Ocean Cleanup, Boyan is an Aerospace Engineering student at the Delft University of Technology, and is an avid photographer and diver. At age 14, he was awarded the Best Idea of South-Holland award, and a Guinness World Record.
Any Waste, Any Time - Global Garbage Em 11/01/2011, publicado por Fabiano Barretto. Categoria: Featured Articles, Global News, Videos | no responses The port of Rotterdam has a very active waste collection business. In this movie we will make you aware of the effects of marine litter on the marine environment, the role of shipping and possible solutions. The Port of Rotterdam Authority shows together with its business partners what their contribution is in solving the waste problem. Marine litter has become an increasingly serious environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problem around the world. Marine litter is a vicious killer of marine mammals, seabirds and many other life forms in the marine and coastal environment. More information about the disposal of waste in the port of Rotterdam is available on www.portofrotterdam.com
The Ocean Cleanup Plastic-Eating Underwater Drone Could Swallow the Great Pacific Garbage Patch A new underwater drone concept could seek and destroy one of the ocean's most insidious enemies, while earning a profit for plastics recyclers. This marine drone can siphon plastic garbage, swallowing bits of trash in a gaping maw rivaling that of a whale shark. Industrial design student Elie Ahovi, who previously brought us the Orbit clothes washer concept, now presents the Marine Drone, an autonomous electric vehicle that tows a plastic-trapping net. The net is surrounded by a circular buoy to balance the weight of the garbage it collects. It discourages fish and other creatures from entering its jaws via an annoying sonic transmitter, and it communicates with other drones and with its base station using sonar. The system could stay underwater for two weeks, sipping tiny plastic shards and entire plastic bottles. Ahovi, Adrien Lefebvre and fellow students developed several schematics, including a concept that looks much like a whale shark. [via Infoniac]
19-Year-Old Student Develops Ocean Cleanup Array That Could Remove 7,250,000 Tons Of Plastic From the World's Oceans 19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. The device consists of an anchored network of floating booms and processing platforms that could be dispatched to garbage patches around the world. Instead of moving through the ocean, the array would span the radius of a garbage patch, acting as a giant funnel. The angle of the booms would force plastic in the direction of the platforms, where it would be separated from plankton, filtered and stored for recycling. At school, Boyan Slat launched a project that analyzed the size and amount of plastic particles in the ocean’s garbage patches. Slat went on to found The Ocean Cleanup Foundation, a non-profit organization which is responsible for the development of his proposed technologies. It is estimated that the clean-up process would take about five years, and it could greatly increase awareness about the world’s plastic garbage patches.