We’re Taking Tons of Plastic Trash Out of the Ocean – and Upcycling Them

25,000 pounds of trash was extracted from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – in the central North Pacific Ocean – marking the most extensive trash collection from that area in history.

“It’s sad that there’s so much out there, but we’re very happy that we now have developed a system that is tackling this more and more effectively. Our goal is to kind of put ourselves out of business. We don’t want to be doing this forever and ever,” says Alex Tobin, head of public relations and media for the environmental nonprofit Ocean Cleanup.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an enormous pile of floating trash estimated to be twice the size of the state of Texas. Garbage in oceans not only affects aquatic life and ecosystems but can also end up as microplastics in human food. Ocean Cleanup’s system involves two vessels that skim the water to collect debris across 875 yards. The environmental nonprofit will soon launch a new and improved vessel that will cover 2,400 yards in one go – or about the size of a football field every five seconds. What’s more, the nonprofit is partnering with a Korean car manufacturer to ensure that the collected plastic is being used for something useful – like electric vehicles!