Ocean Cleanup removes 200,000th kilogram plastic the Pacific Ocean

Waste removal was made possible by specially designed cleaning systems known as System 002, as well as other equipment. The system also includes AI-powered cameras that continuously scan the ocean's surface in search of plastic waste.

To collect waste, they use a long, u-shaped barrier. To protect marine wildlife, the system moves slowly beneath the ocean and minimizes noise. The monitoring data provided by the company revealed a "low adverse impact of System 002 on marine life over the first 12 trips."

But what happens after the waste is collected? The company answered in a Twitter post: “We want to give ocean plastic a new life by working with partners to recycle and transform it into durable plastic products.” In fact, the organization launched "The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses", its first product made from plastic waste in October 2020.

Boyan Slat, a Dutch inventor, launched this one-of-a-kind project in 2013. The North Pacific Ocean was chosen specifically because it receives a large amount of plastic waste from Asia, South America, and North America. 

Containing 1,800 billion garbage pieces

The garbage patch, three times the size of France, contains 1,800 billion garbage pieces weighing an average of 80 million kilograms. 

This recently achieved milestone is only a drop in the ocean. By 2040, the company hopes to have cleaned up 90 percent of the floating plastics in the ocean. They are also working on System 3, a 2.4km (1.49 mile) long massive barrier to fasten the cleaning-up process.