Looking for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Posted on MyOcean.eu - May 17, 2013

 

From May 20th onwards,the EXPEDITION "7th CONTINENT" will use MyOcean Daily Forecasts for identifying convergence areas of plastics.

The European Union aims to be at the forefront of efforts to reduce marine litter which is a serious threat to the coastal and marine environment around the globe.

Little is known however on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Marine habitats are contaminated with man-made garbage and other waste, posing growing environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problems. Marine litter is a composed of up to 80 % of plastic, and originates from a diverse range of sources. Plastics tend to persist in the marine environment, possibly for hundreds of years.

It is therefore no surprise that MyOcean supports the Expedition to the “7th continent”, this huge ‘soup’ of plastic waste located in the North Pacific’s great subtropical gyre, commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, discovered by Captain Charles Moore in 1995.

The Expedition crew (from the right to the left) : Claire Pusineri, marine biologist ,Les Georges, the boat captain,Soizic Lardeux, photograph and video maker and Patrick Deixonne, the Expedition leader.© OSL

What is the Expedition Goal ?
Bring back an eyewitness account to raise awareness of the general public of this new ecological disaster that is directly caused by human behaviour.

How useful are MyOcean services ?
The crew will daily receive forecasts of currents (surface and -30m) and of Sea Surface Height based on the MyOcean product introduced in the latest catalogue release on April 23rd : Global Ocean Physics Analysis and Forecast updated Daily 

This information is key for optimizing the routing and for identifying plastics convergence areas.

Who is leading the Expedition?
The expedition is organized by the French Guyana association OSL (Ocean Scientific Logistic) which aims at promoting and raising awareness about marine environment through scientific studies and expeditions. Patrick Deixonne, OSL founder, navigator and member of the Société des Explorateurs (French Explorers Society), is leading the first French expedition to the “7th continent. He is accompanied by Claire Pusineri, marine biologist and Soizic Lardeux, photographer and film editor.

When Does it starts from which location?
The expedition will set out to sea from Ocean Side, California on 20th May for a one-month trip of around two thousand nautical miles on a 35-foot boat , a super Swan.
Location in North Pacific :  32°36'000’’N / 140 °34'000”W

The Educational component of the Expedition
The French Space Agency CNES is a major partner of the expedition in the frame of the educational project ARGONAUTICA (the French Space Agency Educational project ) for classes which will follow many aspects of the expedition, such as a buoy’s itinerary via a website  equipped with ‘plastic’ sensor capable of differentiating plastic micro-waste from plankton and then determining concentrations of the former in a given area. They will also be able to access the expedition’s log book, display maps showing sea-surface height and currents ( MyOcean product) which will help the crew navigate towards the gyre's centre...

The Scientific component of the Expedition ?
To quantify and characterise plankton, micro-plastics and pollutants , macro waste encountered on the journey, the crew has on board a few devices able to collect data or samples

• 3 drifter buoys (Oceansites) to be cast overboard in the gyre area.
  
• Gyroplastic buoy’s instruments will determine the environmental parameters (temperature, luminosity, salinity, presence of phytoplankton and plastic) of the top 30 metres of the water column. The buoy will be cast overboard for about an hour per day and the data collected will be transmitted directly to CNES via the Argos system.
  
• Crew members will characterise any floating macro waste encountered during the expedition (size, type, number, location). These observations will be illustrated with photos and videos made both on the surface and underwater.Samples of micro-plastics and plankton on the surface will be collected using a small size ‘Manta’ plankton net (50 x 20 cm opening and 300-micron mesh) cast into the sea for about an hour every day. The samples will be analysed at a French Laboratory (IMRCP) and by some of the classes participating in the programme.
  
• Use of new easy-to-use pollutant sensors (developped by the French Laboratory IMRCP)  which are able to fix large quantities of organic pollutants (hydrocarbons, bisphenol A, phthalates etc.). These sensors will be cast into the ocean at three points along the journey in sectors with low, medium and high pollution levels respectively. The pollutants concentrated in the sensors will be analysed by IMRCP laboratories on our return.A fishing line will be trained. On capturing a fish, the crew will use IMRCP laboratory sensors to concentrate any pollutants found in fish flesh. The pollutants will be analysed by IMRCP laboratories on our return.
  
• At sunrise and sunset, when animals are most active, the on-board biologist will be observing the scene. She will record and characterise (species, number, behaviour, location) all large marine animal observations (birds, marine mammals, sharks, turtles).

To be followed on MyOcean Website...
For any question, contact = contact-com@myocean.eu.org
Expedition Web site: www.septiemecontinent.com

David Graas’ Specked Modular Lamps Diverts Plastic From Our Soup

by Ana Lisa Alperovich, 05/13/13  posted on inhabitat.com

Most plastics can be endlessly recycled without losing their indestructibility. But instead of being reused, the majority of plastics will end up as one-time-use products, finding their end as pollutants on land or in our oceans. Save Our Soup is Dutch designer David Graas’ colorful, speckled collection of recycled plastic lamps that have been created with then intent of diverting plastics from the Pacific Garbage Patch, or “soup”.

Save Our Soup’s brilliant modular lights can be arranged and rearranged into various shapes thanks to its construction using small triangules with plastic snap joinery. The lamp comes in three different sizes and is sure to brighten up any room in a funky way.

We originally spotted the lamps at Dutch Design Week last November, and we can’t wait to see what other functional designs Graas has in store employing reclaimed plastic waste.

+ David Graas
Photo © Ana Lisa Alperovich for Inhabitat

Read more: David Graas’ Colorful Modular Lamps Divert Plastic from the Ocean David Graas' recyced plastic lamps Save Our Soup - Gallery Page 2 – Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Styrene Can Be Listed as Carcinogen On Government Report, Federal Judge Rules

Posted Monday, May 20, 2013 By Robert Iafolla on BNA.com

Styrene can be listed as a “reasonably anticipated human carcinogen” in a government report identifying substances that potentially put people at increased risk for cancer, a federal judge decided May 15 (Styrene Information and Research Center Inc. v. HHS, D.C. Cir., No. 11-01079, 5/15/13).

Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected an industry challenge to the Department of Health and Human Service's inclusion of styrene in the 12th Report on Carcinogens, one in a series of congressionally mandated reports prepared by the National Toxicology Program.

Walton said in his 28-page decision that the carcinogen report provided a rational explanation for the department's decision to list styrene and that its decision is adequately supported by the administrative record.

The Styrene Information and Research Center Inc., a trade association representing 95 percent of the styrene industry, has not decided whether it will appeal the ruling, spokesman Joe Walker told BNA May 16.

Styrene is used to make plastics, rubber, and resins. The annual U.S. styrene production capacity in 2008 was 12.2 billion pounds, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that about 90,000 workers are potentially exposed to styrene.

Worker Exposure

Workers exposed to styrene in its reactive form during production are at the highest risk for adverse health effects, while consumers exposed to plastics and other substances made from styrene face a low risk, said Peter Orris, professor and chief of occupational medicine at University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. Orris joined the legal case in support of the government.

“When the materials are solidified--unless you grind them up and put them in the air--you won't have much of a problem with them,” Orris told BNA. The risks for firefighters and disposal workers who might be exposed to smoke from burning styrene products is less clear, he added.

The inclusion of styrene on the government report on carcinogens, in concert with OSHA's hazard communication standard, essentially ensures that workers will be told that the material is a carcinogen, said Mike Wright, director of health, safety and environment for the United Steelworkers.

Moreover, Wright told BNA that the carcinogen report is an authoritative document that labor advocates can reference in talks with employers to ensure that workers are protected. Occupational safeguards include leak controls so styrene does not escape pipes or reactors, proper venting for any fumes that might be released when reactors are opened, and adequate protective equipment for maintenance workers, he said.

“I've been in plants where there is not a lot of exposure because the styrene is in a closed system,” Wright said. “But there is exposure when [the system] is opened for maintenance.”

Process for Listing

Wright said the Steelworkers joined the case in support of HHS to defend the government's right to communicate the risks of substances after going through a scientifically valid process. The Environmental Defense Fund also joined on the government's side.

SIRC and styrene manufacturer Dart Container Corp. objected to the government's listing process in its lawsuit, which it filed in June 2011--on the same day HHS released the carcinogen report. The lawsuit alleged a series of procedural problems, including violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Information Quality Act, and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (41 OSHR 558, 6/23/11).

Walton's Ruling

The May 15 ruling turned aside all of SIRC's arguments. Walton's opinion appears to criticize the lawsuit at times, including his discussion of SIRC's claim that HHS acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner contrary to the Administrative Procedure Act.

“The plaintiffs have taken a scattershot approach in attacking the secretary's listing decision, with little discussion of the actual justification for the decision set for the substance profile for styrene,” Walton wrote. “Insofar as the plaintiffs do attack that document, though, their arguments fall flat.”

For example, Walton cited SIRC's claim that the substance profile for styrene misconstrues a 2006 study supporting the proposition that exposure increases a risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The judge wrote that the study does say exposure is linked with increase risk for lymphoma and that SIRC does not explain how substance profile misconstrues the study.

Furthermore, he wrote that even if the profile did misconstrue the study, it contains several other studies about the link between exposure and elevated risk of lymphoma--studies that SIRC does not address.

Walton's ruling also laid out the seven-year process that went into the determination to include styrene on the carcinogen report. That process included preparing a 405-page background document surveying scientific knowledge, convening four separate expert panels, and soliciting two rounds of public comments.

No Precedent, But Possible Message?

Walton's emphasis on the strength of the record used to support the government's decision on styrene, as well as his rejection of SIRC's multi-pronged lawsuit, could send a message, said Earthjustice attorney Marianne Engelman Lado.

“The court gave a pretty resounding 'no' to that approach,” Lado told BNA. “I would hope that the chemicals industry would take a look at that opinion and think twice before using that approach again.”

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The opinion by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Styrene Information and Research Center Inc. v. HHS is available at http://op.bna.com/env.nsf/r?Open=jstn-97rut5

Plastic buildup becomes environmental nightmare

 Posted by Elissa Torres on April 14, 2013 in the Golden Gate Xpress

It’s a nice summer day, 85 degrees and sunny. You decide to go to the beach, not only to show off your new summer bod, but to cool off for a swim in the Pacific. While swimming, you find yourself amongst plastic bottles that bob like buoys and you become tangled in Safeway labeled white plastic bags.

Over the last 60 years, plastic has become essential to our lives and mankind has subjected the planet to a tsunami of plastic waste. According to the environmental group Ocean Crusaders, there are believed to be 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile of ocean.

The Pacific contains one of the highest concentrations of plastic materials suspended between North America and Asia. The cluster of plastic materials is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific Trash Vortex is a culmination of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge and other debris that have been trapped in the ocean currents of the North Pacific Gyre. The material is naturally gathered from all across the North Pacific Ocean, which includes coastal waters from North America and Japan.

Although the size of the patch is unknown, it is estimated to be around 700,000 square kilometers or roughly the size of Texas, according to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch website. Plastic is not a material that can be easily broken down.

The building blocks for making plastics are small organic molecules. These molecules contain carbon along with other substances. They generally come from oil (petroleum) or natural gas, combined with plant extracts, crude oil and toxic chemicals like Bisphenol A (BPA), vinyl chloride and dioxin. The small molecules are known as a monomer, meaning one part, because it’s capable of joining with other monomers to form very long molecular chains called polymers, meaning many parts, during a chemical reaction called polymerization. Imagine a paper clip as a monomer, and a paper clip necklace as a polymer.

But how does all that plastic get from the factory to the ocean? The answer is as simple: humans + ocean currents = trash vortex, according to How Stuff Works. More specifically, the plastic stems from trash that was blown off of cargo ships and plastic that was thrown into the ocean, both by mistake or on purpose, that then found its way into the middle of the ocean.

According to scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, nine percent of fish located in the Pacific had plastic waste in their stomach. Also, the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastics Expedition traveled 1,000 miles off the coast of California in August 2009 and found an alarming amount of human generated trash. Most of the plastic had been broken down to the size of a fingernail, floating across the ocean.

Not only are plastics made with toxic materials, but they continue to leach toxicants wherever they are. Chemicals are leached from plastics, which can affect fish, mammals and other marine life. We, as humans, are also affected. We surround ourselves with plastic, eating products that are wrapped in plastic and drinking from plastic containers that put toxicants into our bodies.

It is vital that consumers ask questions about where their recycled products go, ensure their products are taken to a recycling facility where the collectors are using the plastic to make refurbished products like automotive accessories, bags and carpets, according to the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council. Also buying less plastic is a must. The less plastic that is incorporated into your life, the less likely you are to get toxicants in your body from that bottle of water you used or that Tupperware you used to warm up last night’s pasta.

Taking out the rivers' trash, one piece at a time

By Kathleen Toner and Erika Clarke, CNN

published April 18, 2013

CNN Hero: Chad Pregracke

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Chad Pregracke is dedicated to cleaning the Mississippi River and other U.S. waterways
• He and his staff organize community cleanups across the country
• They have a fleet of boats to get the job done, and they try to make cleanup fun for volunteers
• Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2013 CNN Heroes
  

Memphis, Tennessee (CNN) -- In the past 15 years, Chad Pregracke has helped pull more than 67,000 tires from the Mississippi River and other waterways across the United States.

But that's just scratching the surface.

He's also helped retrieve 218 washing machines, 19 tractors, 12 hot tubs, four pianos and almost 1,000 refrigerators.

"People intentionally dumped (these) in the river and also littered," Pregracke said. "Even 100 miles away, (trash) will find its way into a creek or a storm drain and into, ultimately, the Mississippi River."

For Pregracke, removing this debris has become his life's work. Sometimes called "The Rivers' Garbageman," he lives on a barge about nine months out of the year with members of his 12-person crew. Together, they organize community cleanups along rivers across the country.

"The garbage got into the water one piece at a time," Pregracke said. "And that's the only way it's going to come out."

It's a dirty job, but Pregracke, 38, took it on because he realized that no one was doing it. It began as a solo effort, and over the years his energy, enthusiasm and dedication have helped it grow. To date, about 70,000 volunteers have joined his crusade, helping him collect more than 7 million pounds of debris through his nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters.

Growing up, Chad Pregracke was sick of seeing trash in the Mississippi River.

Pregracke grew up in East Moline, Illinois, where the Mississippi River was in his backyard. As a teenager, he worked as a commercial shell diver and began to notice the heaps of debris in the fabled waterway -- one that supplies drinking water to 18 million people in more than 50 U.S. cities.

"I saw thousands of barrels, thousands of tires, cars, trucks and tops of school buses. ... I got sick of seeing it and just wanted to do something about it," he said.

With persistence, sincerity and a lot of chutzpah, Pregracke got a small grant from Alcoa in 1997 and spent that summer cleaning a 35-mile stretch of the river by himself. He would transport the trash by boat and sort it on his parents' lawn to be recycled. By year's end, he had single-handedly pulled around 45,000 pounds of trash out of the river.

His operation has become much more sophisticated since those early days, as his nonprofit now has a fleet of boats. And while he has resources and know-how, he depends on each community he visits to supply the manpower needed to get the job done.

On average, Pregracke says he organizes 70 cleanups a year in 50 communities. The cleanups are posted on the nonprofit's website, Facebook and other outlets so people know where and when they can volunteer.

At the cleanup sites, Pregracke's passion for the work is contagious, and his humor creates an upbeat atmosphere -- something he knows is necessary for the work that they do. His team uses skits, mock motivational speeches and music to get the volunteers amped up, and sometimes they might find themselves doing a little karaoke on their DJ boat.

Picking up garbage, it's tough, miserable and hot. We try to make it fun.

"We do everything in our power to get people excited about it," Pregracke said. "We want people to leave feeling good about what they did so they'll come back."

Teams also compete to see who can find the "best" garbage -- a poker-like game in which two bowling balls tops three refrigerators and a message in a bottle trumps everything. Pregracke has actually accumulated what he believes is the world's largest message-in-a-bottle collection, having found 63 over the years.

"Picking up garbage, it's tough, miserable and hot. We try to make it fun," he said.

At the end of the day, the volunteers head back to shore and make a human chain to bring the day's haul onto the barge and sort it out. Close to 90% of what they recover is recycled; Pregracke says the rest gets disposed of properly.

He believes that volunteers get a huge sense of accomplishment from seeing the garbage piled up at the end of the cleanup, and he considers that just as important as the amount of trash they help collect."

(I'm) creating a chance for people to go out there and do something positive," he said. "Talking is great, but it doesn't do much at all. Action is what I'm about."

Throughout the year, Pregracke's flotilla travels on rivers throughout the Midwest. For the past three years, the group has visited Memphis, Tennessee, each spring to help clean up a harbor on the Mississippi River where the waters are thick with debris. During their most recent visit, they collected more than 120,000 pounds of garbage in 14 working days.

"It's a really negative deal, the worst thing I've ever seen ... (but) I've never been to a city that's had more people coming out saying, 'Let's do something about this.' It's a cool thing," Pregracke said.

Volunteers in Memphis, Tennessee, sort out the garbage from a recent Mississippi River cleanup.

In addition to the river cleanup, Pregracke has launched a floating classroom barge, where his staff educates high school students and teachers about the damages of pollution on river ecosystems. And in 2007, his nonprofit implemented a program to plant 1 million trees along river shorelines to protect and restore the natural environment. The group is halfway to its goal.

Pregracke says his nonprofit has already held more than 700 cleanups on 22 rivers, but he says that he's just getting started. He views his work as a different kind of service to the country.

"A lot of people call me a conservationist or an environmentalist, but the thing is I'm no different than anybody else," he said. "I just want to be known (as) a hardworking American."

Ultimately, Pregracke says, his message is about much more than cleaning rivers. He believes his story is proof that anyone can make a difference:

"If I had one thing to say, it wouldn't even be about rivers necessarily. It would be about finding (a) cause that's dear to you and taking action. ...

"Change is slow, like a barge or train, (but) once it builds momentum, it's hard to stop."

Want to get involved? Check out the Living Lands & Waters website at www.livinglandsandwaters.org and see how to help.

BPA levels in fetal livers higher than adult exposures.

Published Apr 18, 2013 in environmentalhealthnews.org

Nahar, MS, L Chunyang, K Kannan, DC Dolinoy. 2012. Fetal liver bisphenol A concentrations and biotransformation gene expression reveal variable exposure and altered capacity for metabolism in humans. Journal of Biochemical and Molecular Toxicology http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1002/jbt.21459.

Context What did they do? What did they find? What does it mean? Resources More new science from EHN

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Synopsis by Virginia T. Guidry and Wendy Hessler

HoboMama/flickr

A new study shows bisphenol A can cross the placenta and get into the developing livers of fetuses. Even more importantly, 80 percent of the BPA measured in the fetal livers was the more active type of BPA -- free BPA -- which is thought to cause health effects. Results from one of the first studies of its kind show the fetal livers had higher levels than adult livers. The chemical is found in food can linings, some thermal paper receipts and polycarbonate plastics.

Context

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used in many industrial applications as components of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. BPA is commonly found in consumer products, such as the linings of beverage and food cans, dental sealants and thermal receipt paper.

Because of its wide use, exposure is ubiquitous in people. The chemical has been measured in human urine, blood, placental tissue, amniotic fluid and breast milk.

Animal and human studies link BPA to cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproductive health problems and childhood behavior changes.

The U.S. National Toxicology Program and the Food and Drug Administration consider BPA as a chemical of some concern because of its possible effects on pregnant women, the fetus, infants and children. Last month, California announced its intent to list BPA as a reproductive toxin.

The total BPA level measured in urine or blood contains two important parts: free BPA and conjugated BPA. Free BPA is the part that is potentially harmful. It is biologically active and can mimic estrogen hormones.

Conjugated BPA is formed when the liver processes free BPA. This part is not active and is considered less likely to have health effects. It is excreted from the body in urine.

In adults, BPA is rapidly transformed – usually in less than a day – from free BPA to conjugated BPA and then excreted. Therefore, free BPA usually comprises a small fraction – about 10 to 30 percent – of the total BPA when measured in urine or blood.

BPA can pass from a mother into the developing fetus. Because of differences in the way fetal and adult livers process the chemical, the fetus may be exposed to higher doses of free BPA than adults.

Aside from one study that measured BPA in fetal livers, little is known about fetal exposure, including how well fetal livers can process free BPA and the resulting exposure levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What did they do?

Researchers analyzed 50 liver samples from first- and second-trimester fetuses. Fetal tissues were collected with permission from women choosing to terminate pregnancies. Two adult liver samples from autopsies were used as controls.
Free and conjugated BPA levels were measured in each sample. Samples were also tested for four genes known to affect liver function. If the genes were "expressed," then they had been activated and were presumably performing the function of processing BPA.

What did they find?

BPA was detected in the fetal liver samples, and the majority found – close to 80 percent – was the more harmful free BPA. BPA levels in the adult liver controls were either very low or too low to measure.
Other studies that measure BPA in adult blood or urine report the proportion of free BPA typically as 10-20 percent – the opposite of what was found in the fetal livers.
Three of the four metabolism genes had reduced expression when compared to adults. The fourth gene was not different. This suggests that fetal livers are not functioning in the same way as adult livers would.
However, reduced gene expression was not directly associated with higher free BPA levels in the tissue samples, so more questions remain about how BPA is processed in fetal livers.

What does it mean?

Fetuses may be exposed to much higher doses of the more harmful free BPA variety than adults. This may be a result of differences in the way adult and fetal livers function.
The results are important because exposure to BPA during critical developmental stages may alter fetal development and have health effects later in life.
The study is the first attempt to identify possible mechanisms that may result in higher fetal exposures to BPA. Surprisingly, levels of free BPA were much higher in the fetal liver tissues than adult controls or what is typically measured in adult blood or urine.
It is possible that differential gene expression played a role in these differences. The results from this study did not provide a clear connection. One of the limitations of the study, acknowledged by the authors, is that only two adult livers were used for comparison.
This is one of only two studies to directly assess fetal exposures to BPA by measuring the two parts of the chemical in the livers. The results of this study are in line with the handful of other studies that measure BPA in the placenta and amniotic fluid.

19-year-old Dutch student develops ocean cleanup technology

Posted By Brett Wilkins published March 27, 2013 in Digital Journal.com
 

Delft - A 19-year-old Dutch engineering student has devised what he claims is a profitable way to remove millions of tons of plastic waste from the oceans.

Boyan Slat, an aerospace engineering student at the Delft University of Technology, started the Ocean Cleanup Foundation to tackle the daunting task of removing the massive plastic garbage patches, called gyres, that blanket enormous spreads of the earth's oceans and threaten the planet's marine ecosystems.

The largest of the garbage patches, the North Pacific Gyre, is believed to be twice the size of the United States. It is believed to contain more than 100 million tons of garbage and continues to grow. The plastic contained within the gyres is made up mostly of small bits and pieces which appear to be food to birds and fish, many of which are found dead with stomachs full of plastic. The plastic bits also contain dangerous chemicals such as PCBs and DDTs that, once consumed, make their way up the food chain to humans.

To clean up these gyres, Slat has come up with a concept he calls the Ocean Cleanup Array, a solar-and sea-powered system of 24 sifters anchored to the ocean floor that use the ocean's own currents to channel plastic pieces into miles of interconnected booms. The booms would also allow marine life to avoid becoming trapped. The collected plastic would then be transported to shore and sold.

Slat claims that the Ocean Cleanup Array will be able to remove 7.25 million tons of plastic from the earth's oceans within five years.

"This concept is so efficient, that we estimate that by selling the plastic received from the five gyres, we would make in fact more money than the plan would cost to execute," Slat writes. "In other words, it's profitable."

Slat's design was awarded Best Technical Design at Delft University, and came in second in the iSea Clash of the Concepts sustainable innovation contest sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. He is currently looking to partner with plankton biologists, engineers and philanthropists to realize his ambitious design.

More about boyan slat, ocean cleanup, ocean cleanup array