Ocean Cleanup: “While Boyan Slat’s idea to rid the ocean of plastic gained worldwide attention and acclaim in 2013, it was still just that: an idea. In order to investigate whether the passive cleanup technology could indeed be an effective way to remove vast amounts of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, The Ocean Cleanup started off by performing a broad-scoped but extensive feasibility study. The study covered areas such as engineering, oceanography, ecology, maritime law, finance and recycling. A voluntary team of 100 scientists and engineers spent one full year completing the Feasibility Study, which was published on June 3, 2014…The Feasibility Study concluded that The Ocean Cleanup Array is indeed likely to be a feasible means of cleaning up almost half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within 10 years. Following its completion, the work has been used as a basis for the Pilot Phase. The full report, updated in Q4 2014 (v2.0) is available for download.

• How the Oceans Can Clean Themselves – A Feasibility Study by Boyan Slat: “The research described in this feasibility report indicates that The Ocean Cleanup Array is a feasible and viable method to remove large amounts of plastic pollution from a major accumulation zone known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Computer simulations have shown that floating barriers are suitable to capture and concentrate floating plastic debris. Combined with ocean current models to determine how much plastic would encounter the structure, a cleanup efficiency of 42% of all plastic within the North Pacific gyre can be achieved in ten years using a 100 km Array. In collaboration with offshore experts, it has been determined that this Array can be made and installed using current materials and technologies. The estimated costs are €317 million in total, or €31.7 million per year when depreciated over ten years, which translates to €4.53 per kilogram of collected ocean debris.”