The ocean is big. Cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch using conventional methods – vessels and nets – would take thousands of years and tens of billions of dollars to complete. This is why, at the Ocean Cleanup, we are developing passive systems that are estimated to remove 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage patch in just five years. The first version of this was System 001 that we deployed for four months before it broke, after which we returned it to shore, allowing us to adapt the technology further. Using the learnings and data collected from System 001’s time offshore, we conducted a root cause analysis for the ineffective plastic retention and structural failure. It was concluded that the system needed to move through the plastic at a consistent speed to effectively catch and retain the plastic. Either going slower or faster, the system must not lose what has accumulated inside of it. We also determined that the fracture resulted from material fatigue, caused by stress concentrations at the weld points in the dovetail connections. The engineering team developed options to address both issues, which were incorporated into a modified design with System 001/B. In this playlist you will find videos on the journey of System 001/B. From its development, deployment, the first time it caught plastic and the return to shore and our presentation of the plastic catch in Vancouver.
