The idea of creating floating barriers for catching plastic waste belongs to the young Dutchman Boyan Slat. This summer, the Ocean Cleanup Organization will install the first 100-meter segment in the North Sea, 23 km off the coast of the Netherlands.
Floating barriers are considered one of the most important elements of the plastic waste collection concept. By 2020, the Clean Ocean Project plans to install a 100-kilometer V-shaped floating barrier in the path of a giant debris patch in the North Pacific Ocean.
Each such shoulder consists of a 3-meter-high screen, which completely blocks the waste that gets in its way, after which it is collected and sent to a recycling point. According to experts, a 100-kilometer dam will help to remove up to 42% of the garbage in the World Ocean within 10 years, which corresponds to about 70 million 320 thousand kg of plastic waste.
If the experience is successful, then floating barriers will be used in other countries, which will help to collect up to 8 million tons of garbage.