Tackling the growing plastic pollution problem
The Ocean Cleanup has developed and built the first prototype of a free-floating cleanup system that will be placed in the North Pacific gyre to confine plastics and ease their collection. This full-scale system was recently launched in the Pacific Ocean and consists of an HDPE floating pipe with a 3-metre submerged skirt. During the final design phase, MARIN assisted The Ocean Cleanup by carrying out model tests to investigate the kinematics and loads on the barrier and screen.