In August 2021, the Ocean Cleanup Project launched System002 or “Jenny” in the truly amazing Pacific Garbage Patch, an oceanic accumulation of trash so large, it is often referred to as a garbage island. The garbage patch is considered the world’s largest accumulation of ocean plastic, encompassing more than 1 . 8 trillion pieces, according to the Ocean Cleanup’s estimates.
The redesigned trash-collecting system recently completed its final phase of testing and has collected a fresh batch of garbage, the Ocean Cleanup revealed .
After years of research and millions of dollars invested, the Ocean Cleanup launched its first attempt at a plastic-catching device in 2018, but the prototype broke in the water. The later version , released in 2019, did a better job of collecting plastic, but the organization estimated that it would need hundreds of those devices to clean the world’s oceans.
So the team upgraded the system and came back to the Pacific Ocean in early August. The device is essentially an artificial floating coastline that catches plastic in its fold such as a giant arm, then funnels the garbage into a woven funnel-shaped net. Rather than relying on a floating system that moved with the wind and the motion in the ocean, the horseshoe-shaped Jenny would be towed along by crewed vessels at either end.
The idea is to move the Jenny through a large Pacific garbage patch at a continuing speed of 1. 5 knots, directing the plastic waste to a dedicated storage area. The trash-collecting system is up to 800 meters long, making it the largest system deployed underneath the Ocean Cleanup projects.
The team has recently tested the system in more than 70 separate tests. The last testing of the system was completed over the weekend and, according to experts, was an excellent success.
“It all worked!!! Massive load. We’ll try to get the footage to land ASAP to share with you, ” tweeted Ocean Cleanup CEO Boyan Slat.
The Ocean Cleanup said the unit hauled 9, 000 kg’s (20, 000 lbs) of trash out of the Pacific Ocean in 12 days – proof that the garbage patch could eventually be cleaned up.
“It’s crazy to observe how much the density of the patch differs per location. During the full duration test, we collected 9000kg in 12 days. We just extracted another 4500kg, of which ~2000kg was collected in a single day. Really underlines the importance of hot spot modeling, ” Slat tweeted today.
It is estimated that the team would want about 10 Jennys to completely clean up 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years. A single device can hold 10, 000 to 15, 000 kilograms of plastic.
Countless tons of plastic waste are sent into the ocean every year, so many questions the capability of such barriers to effectively deal with waste. However , at the moment, this is the only available way to deal with this problem.
The company aims to remove 90% of the plastic from the oceans by 2040. Once it’s brought to shore, the plastic gets recycled to make sustainable products like pairs of sunglasses .
Trash-collecting system hauls massive the plastic waste out of the Pacific Ocean
Source: Tambay News
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