There is a huge collection of garbage in the Pacific Ocean just northeast of Hawaii. All the garbage is collected there by the ocean currents from around the world. People call it “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

It is a vast ecosystem that spreads over millions of square kilometers. All that garbage takes as much space as the state of Queensland in Australia.

Pollution caused by plastic is one of the greatest risks to our planet. That’s why we must do something about it, and fast. Another side effect of plastic pollution is microplastic pollution. These tiny plastic particles are an enormous problem and they’ve become very widespread.

They measure no more than 5mm. and some data that scientists from around the world collected show that there are more than 5 tonnes of these tiny particles in the oceans. It is estimated that in the oceans of our world float more than 269,000 tonnes of plastic.

These microscopic plastic particles are very harmful to all the creatures that live in the oceans, but the positive thing is that the device below that is used for capturing plastics, works on the small particles too.

The Ocean Cleanup organization said that they have launched a device for collecting and harvesting the plastics in that area of the ocean. After a year of testing, it is working successfully now. The inventor of the cleaning system, Boyan Slat said that the device uses natural forces that work in the ocean to grab the plastic.

This area of the ocean is like one giant island or rubbish that floats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

This huge garbage area was discovered in the 1990s and at first, scientists thought that thousands of years would be needed to get rid of all that plastic, but then Boyan Slat presented his idea and said that he could clean all that rubbish in just less than ten years if he manages somehow to finish his special device for it.

Many people were skeptical of his idea, but Boyan didn’t stop. He decided to drop out of college to make the things he said true. Many people supported his idea and he received more than $2 million through crowdfunding and a couple more millions through investors who were intrigued by his plans.

So finally his device is finished, and the System 001/B as it is called, is working properly and it can even catch microplastic particles as tiny as 1 millimeter, which was a pleasant surprise to anyone involved.

Source: NPR.org,  The Guardian,  FRANCE 24 English,  Educate Inspire Change