Our focus is currently only on the five oceanic gyres, where floating plastic accumulates and our cleanup system cannot be adapted to work for other areas. For more details on how our system works, please see our technology page.
We deployed our first beta cleanup system from San Francisco Bay into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on September 8, 2018. After months of testing and documenting, we returned back to port for repair and upgrade as of January 3, 2019. We learned that the system to a large extent works as is intended, but is not always moving faster than the plastic, and thus not retaining it long enough for efficient cleanup. The engineering teams in now going through the test data, inspecting the system and working on solutions. To follow this progress, see our dedicated System 001 page. Once we have made alterations and feel confident to put the system to the test again, we will relaunch the system into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
After we have reached proof of technology, we will start scaling up more rapidly. We have calculated that we would need a fleet of 60 cleanup systems in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to reach a 50 % plastic reduction in 5 years’ time.
When our technology has been proven for the ocean, and we are well on our way to reaching a full fleet of cleanup systems in the North Pacific, we could potentially devote time and resources to spin-off projects. If you have an interest in buying a system for other areas than the gyres, feel free to send us an email through our contact form, detailing your interest, so we can keep your details on file for the future.