Summary, Draft #2

In the article, “Boy Genius Boyan Slat's Giant Ocean Cleanup Machine Is Real,” Schiller (2017) explores the potential of Boyan Slat’s recent innovation, with claims to radically improve the situation in the Pacific Garbage Patch, projecting to remove 50% of the plastic waste within the next 5 years. The article mentions that Slat’s design functions as an "artificial coastline", utilizing current to entrap and gather waste for convenient disposal. With the prototype for the former design failing in the harsh ocean conditions, Slat was able to learn from and improve his device. The new design replaces the use of foundations with anchors situated in the deep-sea layer to slow down the boom and facilitate entrapment. Slat acclaims that the revised system will be more robust, affordable, and "scalable" with plans to increase the quantity of deployed booms by reducing their size. In a bid to substantiate his colossal projections for trash removal, Slat also claims to have done extensive simulations on the interaction of marine devices and trash in its natural environment. Finally, Schiller mentions that Slat plans to recycle all the plastic collected in the Patch.



Reference list:

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