Assignment 2: Summary Reader Response: Ocean Cleanup Machine Draft #2

In the article, "Boy Genius Boyan Slat's Giant Ocean Cleanup Machine Is Real," Schiller(2017) explores the potential of Boyan Slats' recent innovation. With claims to radically improve the condition of the Pacific Garbage Patch, projecting to remove 50% of the plastic waste within the next five years. The article mentions Slat's design functioning as an "artificial coastline" utilizing current to gather and entrap waste for convenient disposal. With the prototype for his former design failing to the brutal ocean conditions, Slat was able to learn from and improve his device. The new model replaces the use of foundations with anchors situated in the deep-sea layer to slow down the boom and facilitate entrapment. Slat claims that the revised system will be more robust, affordable, and scalable. He also envisages collected debris to weigh in the "tens of thousands of tons" every year. In a bid to substantiate his colossal claims for trash removal, Slat has purportedly done extensive simulations on the interaction of marine devices and trash in their natural environment.

With plastic waste breaking down into microplastics (1-5mm) due to prolonged exposure to the ocean and adversely affecting marine ecosystems, Slat's mission to clean the Pacific Garbage Patch is indeed pressing. However, he neglects to address all other aspects of oceanic plastic waste and fails to deliver satisfactory results given the resources he has.

First of all, Slat should have done a more comprehensive analysis of the factors contributing to ocean waste before capital expenditure. According to the article "This World Environment Day, it's time for a change"(n.d.), an estimated "8 million tons of plastic ends up in the world's ocean every year", with ten rivers spewing out more than "90% of the plastic waste" into the ocean. These values illustrate the inadequacy of Slat's system to effectively combat the magnitude of plastic waste entering the sea. If Slat's motive were to rid the ocean from the plastic waste that cripples marine life, he would fail miserably. In my opinion, the outflow of plastic waste from the ten rivers identifies as a root cause of oceanic plastic waste pollution. And it would have been compellingly simpler and cheaper for him to develop a device to trap the plastic waste coming away from the rivers than to collect them out in the deep sea dispersed across large areas. The project "Mr. Trashwheel" as well as the article "The Dutch boy mopping up a sea of plastic."(2014) supports my belief by demonstrating the concept operationally and providing a valuable understanding of the topic.

Secondly, Slat fails to consider the damage that plastic waste could do to marine ecosystems while traversing to the Pacific Garbage Patch. Kratochwill(2016) mentions how oceanographer Sebille concluded that plastic waste could float in the sea for up to 50 years before finally reaching the garbage patch. With that in mind, the 8 million tons of plastic waste that went unaddressed by Slat's system has the opportunity to wreck marine ecosystems before eventually being noticed. On top of that, Fox(2010) reports that some of the everyday items usually found in oceanic plastic waste will break down to microplastics in less than 50 years. Due to Slat's failure to address and contain the plastic waste at its source, we can also expect to see a rise in the volume of microplastics in the ocean, further exacerbating the situation.

Lastly, Slat should utilize a more robust design thinking framework to minimize the risk of unforeseen circumstances sabotaging the feasibility of the project after capital expenditure. The article "SYSTEM 001 LEARNINGS - ROOT CAUSES SUMMARIZED"(2019), highlights the inability of the system to retain plastic waste and the subsequent failure of the device four months later during its operation in the open sea. Despite having completed "hundreds of model tests and a series of nearshore prototypes.", Slat was unable to develop a functioning system to remove plastic waste from the ocean. Had Slat started with a comprehensive framework for identifying and comparing the feasibility of his concepts, he would have made more progress reducing the amount of plastic waste in the ocean while being judicious with the consumption of philanthropic donations.

Although Slat executed actions to correct the problems associated with his initial design, he fails to identify and address aspects of oceanic plastic waste holistically. His glaring oversight in identifying and addressing these evident issues hints at the possibility of the project being an avenue to seek self- glorification rather than a legitimate attempt to solve the problem.




Reference list:


Fox, C. (2010). Trash Travels: From Our Hands to the Sea, Around the Globe, and Through Time.
Retrieved February 9, 2020 from Ocean Conservancy:
https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2010-Ocean-Conservancy-ICC-Report.pdf 


Home. (n.d.).
Mr. Trash Wheel
Retrieved February 9, 2020 from
https://www.mrtrashwheel.com/


Our planet is drowning in plastic pollution. This World Environment Day, it's time for a change. (n.d.).
UN Environment
Retrieved February 9, 2020 from
https://www.unenvironment.org/interactive/beat-plastic-pollution/


Schiller, B. (2011). Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Giant Ocean Clean up Machine is Real.
Fast Company.
Retrieved January 30, 2020 from
https://www.fastcompany.com/40419899/boy-genius-boyan-slats-giant-ocean-cleanup-machine-is-real



System 001 Learnings - Root Causes Summarized: Updates. (2019).
The Ocean Cleanup
Retrieved February 9, 2020 from
https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/system-001-learnings-root-causes-summarized/


Venema, V. (2014). The Dutch boy mopping up a sea of plastic.
BBC News
Retrieved February 9, 2020 from
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29631332