Lessons from System 002 • Updates • The Ocean Cleanup – GWC Mag

BOYAN SLAT
FOUNDER AND CEO

Q: Another huge milestone in the life of The Ocean Cleanup! What are your feelings at the end of System 002’s shift in the GPGP?

A: More than anything, I feel hope. System 002 has been a huge success, and our team has showed the world that it is possible to solve this problem and clean up the plastic from our oceans. System 002 has demonstrated continuous improvement, achieving larger catches and improved efficiency over time, which means we’re getting better at this as we progress. System 002 showed that we can turn this concept into a reality, and that makes me feel hopeful for System 03.

Q: How will System 03 bring us closer to ridding the oceans of plastic?

A: The GPGP is huge, and contains around 100,000 tons of plastic. In order to clean such a massive area, scaling up is necessary – that’s why we’ve gone big. Increasing size is the best way to drive down the costs of the cleanup, and that’s what we’re looking to achieve with System 03: capturing unprecedented amounts of plastic while showing that our operation is not only feasible, but also viable. This is the key step we need to take before we can scale up to clean not only the GPGP, but oceans around the world. The future of the GPGP may well depend on the success of System 03.

System 002 has taught us lessons that will benefit our operations for years to come, and continue to drive us towards our mission of ridding the oceans of plastic. As we say goodbye to Jenny, we look forward to System 03 and the next step in cleaning the GPGP. Follow our progress on theoceancleanup.com and @theoceancleanup as the largest cleanup in history gets even bigger.