The Ocean Cleanup is an organisation clearing tons of plastic from seas and rivers around the world, including the great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Problems they are tackling: The plastic pollution in our oceans and rivers.
How are they doing it: Set up by Boyan Slat when he was 18, the Ocean Cleanup has created a fantastic system using massive nets to catch the plastic in the ocean whilst ensuring the ocean wildlife is not harmed.
They are also working in rivers worldwide, catching the plastic before it enters the sea.
Reasons to be hopeful:
In August 2023, they launched their largest net system, enabling them to start clearing plastic from the Great Ocean garbage patch.
In the waters around the world, the equivalent area of one football pitch is being cleared every 20 seconds.
Currently cleared 5,281,312 kg of plastic from the world’s waters.
The organisation is simultaneously stopping plastic entering and are clearing plastic out of the oceans.
Visit their website to discover:
the new machine they launched in Aug 2023
what they are doing with the plastic they collect
what kind of jobs people have within the organisation