Environment

The driver behind our mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic is to make the ocean a healthier place for all life that benefits from it, so our number one priority is safety for the environment and our crew. While the overall risks of our operations were found to be negligible, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by CSA Ocean Sciences determined that certain interactions are likely with some species of fish, and certain plankton and neustonic organisms with limited mobility, so we must minimize this impact as much as possible.

Because of the lack of data, there is uncertainty on the residual impact our operations will have on these communities; therefore, we aim to help fill these knowledge gaps by collecting data during these missions and sharing with the scientific community. The EIA does note that the long-term impact on fish species should be beneficial due to the removal of large amounts of plastic and marine debris, and that it is unlikely that potentially-impacted fish species will decrease in number.

The system is designed to be safe for the environment; speed (slower than a casual stroll), materials, and shape have all been chosen to minimize the chances of any negative side effects. Additionally, as an extra precaution, the system is equipped with several mitigation measures to deter marine animals from interacting with the system. Using an underwater camera, we will monitor the system from the vessels for plastic concentrations and to spot potential sea life nearby. While extracting plastic, crew will be present and monitor the area. If necessary, we can and will halt cleanup operations based on the event severity level.

As we continue to learn more about the technology and the natural behaviors of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, we will adapt as needed to ensure we have a minimal impact.

The findings from our Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) concluded that the system will likely act as a fish aggregating device (FAD), based on the data available that fish species are often attracted to offshore floating structures such as oil and gas platforms and other types of flotsam. That said, this should not have an effect on the population levels of fish communities. For a more detailed analysis, you can read our EIA which will be published before sail out.

As with any large-scale activity at sea, consuming fuel is inevitable. With System 002, this is caused by the vessels towing the system.

With the help of South Pole, a leading developer of climate protection projects, we have already compensated for the carbon emissions from all fuel consumed during the System 001 campaign.

Though counter-intuitive, on average, the active approach of System 002 will be consuming about the same amount of fuel as with passive systems as they would have to be reoriented when drifting out of the patch. However, we aim to offset all carbon emissions of our System 002 ocean operations.

In the short term, we are looking into the most fuel-efficient mode of operating the two vessels, including a pilot project led by Maersk looking into the use of biofuels derived from waste products. As our operations continue, we will work on developing the most fuel-efficient vessel routing and logistics for our scale-up and hope to further incorporate biofuels, with the aim to integrate renewable fueled assets into our operations.

The main changes have been the switch from a moored system to a drifting system, and later to an active system. We learned this has many advantages: higher plastic capture efficiency; reduced deployment- and maintenance costs; reduced risk of system damage due to lower forces from wind, waves, and currents to name a few.

From System 001, we learned that the system suffered from fatigue issues, and was not able to keep a sufficient speed difference with the plastic. The knowledge gained from System 001 was implemented into a redesign: System 001/B, a smaller, modular version, that could be adjusted offshore, if necessary. During the deployment of System 001/B, we also learned that slowing down the system (versus speeding it up) created the most consistent speed difference between the system and the plastic, allowing the plastic to concentrate and remain inside the system.

Following our trials with System 001/B, we concluded that we could not effectively scale up with this design. Therefore, with System 002 we developed a new approach that uses active propulsion to continuously move faster than the plastic. With an actively propelled system, we will be able to catch more plastic quicker and more efficiently because now we can – contrary to the passive approach – steer the systems towards areas with high concentrations of plastic.

We have conducted an environmental impact assessment for our first ocean cleanup system, System 001, and have done so again for System 002. You can see the document here.

Before we scale up to a fleet of systems, we will reference our original assessment and conduct additional EIAs based on any design changes and the scope of the operations. We will only move forward with deployment once we have confirmation from new EIAs that our activities will not adversely affect the environment.

It is difficult to determine what positive or negative impact will occur between our technology and floating organisms (neuston), as little is known about the interaction of these organisms with this offshore environment, plastic, and our technology. There is still much to learn, hence the need for continued research. Fortunately, our operations provide a unique platform to conduct research on this under-studied topic, helping us to understand our potential impact on the marine environment and providing greater insights on these organisms.

We have commissioned third-party environmental impact assessments (EIA) with Royal Haskonig, Arcadis, and Witteveen en Bos for the deployment areas in question. The EIA results concluded that in all locations where an Interceptor is deployed, the negative impacts on the environment are negligible. For each deployment, we will conduct additional EIAs.

Before our operations commence, The Ocean Cleanup takes several steps in consideration of local communities, wildlife, and habitats.

Prior to each Interceptor deployment, we work with local and global partners and expert consultants to scan for environmental and social impacts unique to the specific conditions of each river, and to comply with local environmental laws and regulations. Together with Royal Haskoning DHV, Arcadis, and Witteveen & Bos, we have finalized four assessments to date, and one in-progress with Stantec. These reports have been shared with the necessary regulatory stakeholders for each project, but with the involvement of multiple third parties, which differ for each Interceptor, it is not appropriate for us to publicly share the assessments at this time. We will continue scanning for environmental and social impacts prior to each Interceptor project. Since the approach and depth of the assessments have varied, we are learning how to best conduct and standardize environmental and social impact scanning and to share results. To achieve this, we are selecting a global organization to develop this process for impact scanning as we deploy the next 10 to 16 Interceptors over the next 12 to 18 months. Part of this process includes the development of management plans with monitoring and mitigation protocols, including recording occurrences of animal interaction and collected debris composition. This information is used to continuously improve our technology and methodology to reduce impacts.

Considering that we are still developing this process, our intention is to provide more information on this page in the future, including a summary of results of existing impact assessments.

We are always welcome to collaboration and we would love to hear from you. You can send an email to our team at environment@theoceancleanup.com.

Thank you for taking the time to share your concern with us. It’s important to us to be able to hear and learn from critical feedback as well as positive. Would you please send an email our team at environment@theoceancleanup.com so we can start a dialogue with you?

Thank you for your interest in The Ocean Cleanup and wanting to help solve the plastic pollution problem!
There are several steps you can take to prevent plastic pollution, but some depend on recycling facilities in your area. Here are a few tips:

• Organize beach, river bank or land cleanups (you might also be able to find Facebook groups for established initiatives in your area)
• Reduce your use of disposable plastics (use a reusable water bottle, use a reusable grocery bag, get into some ‘do it yourself projects’ to reduce packaging, etc.)
• Make sure you dispose of trash properly
• Reuse and recycle whenever possible
• Wash your synthetic clothing as little as possible and use microfiber absorbers when you do
• Help fund the continuation of the cleanup with The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses.
• Support us financially with a donation
• Join the The Ocean Cleanup team
• Lobby to your (local) government
• Simply share The Ocean Cleanup’s mission through word of mouth or over social media with your network
• Tag @theoceancleanup to share your individual efforts against plastic pollution
• Start a Facebook Fundraiser for The Ocean Cleanup on your profile to get your friends and family involved
• Donate your KLM Flying Blue miles, to help enable our team to be where they need to be to further our mission

Thanks again for your offer to help – we really appreciate it!