Design Solutions for Ocean Plastic Pollution
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is now three times larger than France, spans nearly 10 million square kilometers and is estimated to contain around 100,000 million tons of waste. Worldwide, there are five major garbage patches that hold approximately 5 trillion pieces of plastic. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup has created a two-kilometer floating barrier aimed at removing 50% of the patch within five years. Meanwhile, the Seabin Project, initiated by Pete Ceglinski and Andrew Turton, collects 1.5 kg of plastics each day. The Rozalia Project's Cora Ball Microfiber Catcher targets microfibers in laundry. In 2017, Adidas, in collaboration with Parley for the Ocean, sold over one million pairs of shoes made from recycled ocean plastic. Additionally, Rossana Orlandi introduced a "guiltless plastic" initiative at Milan Design Week in April.
Key facts
- Great Pacific Garbage Patch estimated up to 10 million km², three times size of France
- Contains up to 100,000 million tons of plastic
- Five garbage patches exist globally
- 5 trillion pieces of plastic including microplastics in food chain
- The Ocean Cleanup founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat
- Ocean Array Cleanup is a 2 km floating barrier using currents
- Aims to clean 50% of Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years
- Seabin Project captures 1.5 kg of plastic per day
- Cora Ball Microfiber Catcher collects synthetic microfibers in washing machines
- Adidas sold over 1 million Parley UltraBoost shoes in 2017
- Rossana Orlandi launched 'guiltless plastic' campaign at Milan Design Week
Entities
Artists
- Boyan Slat
- Pete Ceglinski
- Andrew Turton
- Cyrill Gutsch
- Rossana Orlandi
Institutions
- The Ocean Cleanup
- Forbes
- Seabin Project
- Rozalia Project
- Adidas
- Parley for the Ocean
- Spazio Rossana Orlandi
- International Coastal Clean Up
Locations
- Pacific Ocean
- Delft
- Milan
- Italy