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 monitor the system from the vessels for plastic concentrations and to spot potential sea life nearby. While extracting plastic, crew is present and monitoring 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.

Fish are often attracted to floating structures found offshore, such as flotsam, and oil and gas platforms. This also applies to the plastic that is currently in the ocean, including large ghost nets. By collecting this plastic, fish may gather around our system temporarily. However, because the retention zone is emptied every two weeks, and the entire system may be removed from the water every four weeks, these FAD effects are removed, and the fish disperse.

Learn more about how the system is designed for limited environmental impact in this YouTube video.

Limiting our impact on the environment is at the core of each decision we make. As with any large-scale activity at sea, currently, consuming fuel is inevitable. With System 002, this is primarily related to the vessels operating the system. We are currently looking into ways we can both limit and offset our emissions.

To limit emissions, our partner Maersk is looking into the most fuel-efficient mode of operating the vessels, including a pilot project looking into the use of biofuels only derived from waste products. As our operations continue, Maersk will continue to develop the most fuel-efficient vessel routing and logistics for our scale-up and hope to further incorporate sustainable fuels, with the aim to integrate renewable fueled assets into our operations.

To offset the unavoidable emissions, The Ocean Cleanup is currently working with South Pole, a leading developer of climate protection projects. We have already compensated for the vessel emissions during the System 001 campaign (System 001 and 001/B). We are offsetting all carbon emissions related to System 002, including design, production, logistics, and vessel operation.

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.

For a mid-term evaluation of our System 002 operations, see our update here.

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 regular and systematic research on this under-studied topic, helping us to understand our potential impact on the marine environment and providing greater insights into these organisms. To read more about our preliminary findings in the System 002 campaign, you can visit the update on our mid-term evaluation. See this update, for our most recent research on neuston in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Prior to each Interceptor deployment, we work with local and global partners including 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. We commissioned third-party environmental and social impact scanning (ESIS) with Royal Haskoning, Arcadis, and Witteveen+Bos for the deployment areas in question. With an ESIS we estimate the possible impact on the environment. To date, the assessments have shown the impact to tend towards negligible. In tandem, we are developing monitoring processes to better understand this possible impact – with some pilot efforts currently active. While we are still very much in a learning phase, for each deployment, we will conduct additional ESISs and develop monitoring efforts for verification

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

Prior to each Interceptor deployment, we work with local and global partners including 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. We commissioned third-party environmental and social impact scanning (ESIS) with Royal Haskoning, Arcadis, and Witteveen+Bos for the existing and upcoming deployment locations.

These reports are shared with the necessary regulatory stakeholders for each project when applicable, but as they involve multiple third parties, which differ for each Interceptor, it is not appropriate for us to publicly share the assessments at this time. For each Interceptor project, we will conduct additional ESIS assessments prior to deployment. Since the approach and depth of the assessments can vary, we are learning how to best conduct, standardize, and share environmental and social impact scanning. 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 here in the future, including a summary of the 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 environmentalteam@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 for 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
• Support us financially with a donation
• Join The Ocean Cleanup team
• Become a Citizen Scientist with our The Ocean Cleanup Survey app
• 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!