Final Summary Reader Response

Schiller (2017) reported in the article “Boy Genius Boyan Slat’s Great Ocean Cleanup Machine is Real” that the project to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch would commence in 2018, where a machine collects garbage that circulates around a vortex in the center of the patch. A "technological breakthrough" promised to make the system more robust, affordable, and 'scalable' by transforming the original idea of having a massive single inflatable boom to be anchored to the seabed, into a system of fifty suspended one-kilometre long solid booms. Attached to the booms by long lines are anchors, with surface areas of 328ft2, found deep below the water's surface where the currents are four times slower. They acted as parachutes to slow down each boom relative to the surface currents, which allows them to behave as man-made coastlines to capture the trash. The change in the system's design significantly reduced its estimated cost from its original $320 million projection. $30 million has been raised since last November via donations and sixty-five people have begun working on the project. The goal is to collect half of the trash in five years and recycle the collected waste to recoup the cost.

Although Slat’s design system in collecting the garbage and was clear and innovative as described by Schiller, there is still a controversy in terms of the machine’s efficiency, the machine’s cost and its impact in the ocean condition.

Firstly, even though the machine was designed in a way that can theoretically capture half of the Pacific's garbage patch in just five years, the designers did not fully consider it in the ocean conditions. According to Kart (2018), their recent test carried out in September 2018 and found that the machine did not perform as well as their expectations. According to Summers (2018), placing the boom in the ocean the current and pathway of collecting the garbage. The plastic waste was seen driven around the system instead of being concentrated in the middle. Furthermore, the machine faced another problem whereby the plastic waste that was collected only stayed in the system for a short period of time. Kart (2018) stated that the system needs to move at a fast-continuous pace to retain the plastic waste that was caught. In order to solve this issue, the team had to redesign the system. In my opinion, the bold statement of clearing the half of the current trash in five years as described by Schiller, should be made after several testing of the machine in the ocean since currently it is facing technical challenges.

Secondly, in the article, Schiller (2017) stated that the machine approximately cost lower than $320 million. However, that is still a huge amount of money to be raised. King (2019) reported that the machine is too costly to build and the organization would not be profiting for the time being due to the “market price for discarded plastic remains incredibly low.” I believe that if there is not enough funding to this project, the machine might not be performing efficiently, and the team would be progressing at a much slower pace.

Lastly, deploying the machine in the ocean may have an environmental impact on the marine life. According to Loria (2018), it is impossible for a massive floating device to clean up a huge amount of plastic waste without endangering the marine life or adding plastic waste to the situation. Even though Slat’s intention was to save the environment, I feel that he should provide a periodic statistical analysis as evidence to show that the machine did not affect any marine life periodically.

In conclusion, even though the idea of cleaning the great pacific garbage patch faces a lot of obstacles along the way, I can see that the creator Boyan Slat is optimistic and confident that one day his creation will clear the plastic waste in the ocean. Critics suggest that dealing with the root cause of the problem would be of a better solution, but Slat’s stand is clear that someone must clear the huge garbage patch since it is already out there. I believed that Slat should provide relevant evidence to support his goals that he had set to meet. This would help to convince the audience that his idea would be successful one day.

References

Kart, J. (2018, December 05). The ocean cleanup isn't capturing plastic, but organizers are testing a solution. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2018/12/05/the-ocean-cleanup-isnt-capturing-plastic-but-organizers-are-testing-a-solution/#5876a0c41749

King, P. (2019, February 10). Ocean cleanup won't turn a profit, but we should still do it. The conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/ocean-cleanup-wont-turn-a-profit-but-we-should-still-do-it-104097

Loria, K. (2018, September 07). A 24-year-old is going ahead with a controversial plan to trap plastic floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Some experts are worried. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.sg/boyan-slat-ocean-cleanup-launch-into-pacific-on-september-8-2018-7/?_ga=2.69266518.730627668.1549380864-1426863861.1549380861&r=US&IR=T

Schiller, B. (2017, November 05). Boy genius Boyan Slat's giant Ocean Cleanup Machine is real. Fast               company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/40419899/boy-genius-boyan-slats-             giant-ocean-cleanup-machine-is-real