An expedition that will test an ocean plastic cleanup invention will depart from Victoria in two weeks.
The test campaign for The System 002 (aka Jenny) piloted by The Ocean Cleanup — a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic — is set to depart Victoria on July 27th.
The voyage will set off to The Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.
If the test is successful, The Ocean Cleanup will apply what was learned towards future technology that intends to remove 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years.
The Ocean Cleanup’s main objective is to rid the ocean of 90% of its plastic.
Jenny is designed to be a fully operational plastic retention and cleanup system with a focus on autonomous navigation, long-term plastic retention, and durability at sea.
According to AzoCleanTech, the developed technology creates a drag that allows swirling plastic to be captured and concentrated for effective removal from the ocean. Huge anchors floating hundreds of feet below steady the system while it moves more slowly than the plastic, scooping it up from behind.
The new system takes from the learnings of System 001/B, which left on a voyage from Vancouver’s coast in 2019, and creates a system intended to clean the area the size of a football field every 15 seconds, according to founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, Boyan Slat.
The voyage will consist of testing the system in four ways — overall functioning and environmental impact, plastic extraction, defining optimum towing speed, and impact of longevity.
After three months, post-deployment, The Ocean Cleanup will have answers that will define the future of their cleanup systems.
System 003 is intended to be more than double the size of System 002, if the test is successful and the demo goes as planned.
Watch the full video about the pilot project here.
