Invention That Cleans Our Oceans

Learn about the amazing boy who invented the incredible machine that helps clean our oceans in this inspiring story!

As a teen, Boyan Slat was scuba diving in Greece and was shocked to see more plastic than fish floating around in the ocean. Amazed that no one made an attempt to fight pollution, he founded ‘The Ocean Cleanup’

Six years ago, the technology was only an idea presented at a TEDx talk. Boyan Slat, the 18-year-old presenter, had learned that cleaning up the tiny particles of plastic in the ocean could take nearly 80,000 years.

Because of the volume of plastic spread through the water, and because it is constantly moving with currents, trying to chase it with nets would be a losing proposition.

Slat instead proposed using that movement as an advantage: With a barrier in the water, he argued, the swirling plastic could be collected much more quickly.
Then it could be pulled out of the water and recycled.

In 2013, Slat founded the non-profit entity The Ocean Cleanup, of which he is now the CEO. The Ocean Cleanup’s mission is to develop advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. After the foundation, The Ocean Cleanup managed to raise $2.2 million through a crowdfunding campaign with the help of 38,000 donors from 160 countries.

Since The Ocean Cleanup started, the organization has raised $31.5 million USD in donations from entrepreneurs in Europe and in Silicon Valley, including Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.

“By developing new designs, Boyan Slat estimates that half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch will be gone within 5 years, at minimal costs. The project will start with one system in mid-2018 and progressively make use of additional systems until it achieves full-scale deployment by 2020.” – Wikipedia

Watch the incredible ocean-cleaning machine in action in this neat video!

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It’s filled with heartwarming and positive news stories from around the world.

We suggest checking out the Man Who Moved A Mountain.

Or to see more inventions check out this cool video, Top 10 Tech Inventions.