Media Gallery | The Ocean Cleanup

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Visit our Updates section for the latest news from The Ocean Cleanup.

The Ocean Cleanup is cleaning up plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest known accumulation zone of plastic. This patch is halfway between Hawaii and California **Pictured: System 03. The Ocean Cleanup plans to scale up to a total of 10 systems in order to effectively clean up this garbage patch**
Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO, on a beach in Honduras. Rio Motagua basin has its estuary close to this beach. The Rio Las Vacas in Guatemala, in which The Ocean Cleanup is trialing an Interceptor Trashfence, is leading into Rio Motagua. The plastic pollution on the beach is estimated to come from this source.
Boyan Slat on board Interceptor 002 in Klang River, Malaysia
Interceptor 021 deployed in EL Quatzelito, at the mouth of Rio Motagua
Adis mounted on deck

The Ocean Cleanup research team processes ocean plastic samples in the laboratory.

Adis mounted on deck
Data from ADIS
Data from ADIS
AI-powered drones
AI-powered drone data

AI-powered drones
AI-powered drone data
Adis mounted on mast
We tag GPS buoys to ghost nets or megaplastics drifting at sea, allowing us to study ocean currents and predict plastic behavior.
Pacific Data Expedition: Adis mounted on mast
We tag GPS buoys to ghost nets or megaplastics drifting at sea, allowing us to study ocean currents and predict plastic behavior.

Two barriers - one after the other - on both sides of the banks were installed to intercept the trash and guide it ashore.
Two barriers - one after the other - on both sides of the banks were installed to intercept the trash and guide it ashore.

Aerial footage of Interceptor 015 deployed in Sandy Gully
Interceptor Guard
Aerial footage of Interceptor 015 deployed in Sandy Gully
One of the numerous Gullies that run through the city transporting waste to the Harbour
Interceptor Guard

Aerial footage of the Interceptor Tender extracting intercepted plastic
Interceptor Barrier 009 in Kingston Harbour
Interceptor Barrier 009 in Kingston Harbour
Installation of Interceptor 015 in Sandy Gully
Interceptor Barrier in Kingston Harbour
Aerial footage of the Interceptor Tender extracting intercepted plastic
Aerial footage of Interceptor 015 deployed in Sandy Gully

Kia EV3 trunk liner made using ocean plastic extracted from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by The Ocean Cleanup
Kia EV3 trunk liner made using ocean plastic extracted from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by The Ocean Cleanup
Kia EV3 trunk liner made using ocean plastic extracted from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by The Ocean Cleanup
Kia EV3 trunk liner made using ocean plastic extracted from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by The Ocean Cleanup
Ocean plastic being sorted

Kia and The Ocean Cleanup brainstorming ideas
Kia and The Ocean Cleanup brainstorming ideas
Kia and The Ocean Cleanup brainstorming ideas
Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia Corporation, and Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, at the partnership signing ceremony
Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia Corporation, and Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup
Kia electric vehicle driving over the Golden Gate bridge

In this map, you can see our two Interceptor projects in Guatemala
Interceptor 021 deployed in EL Quatzelito, at the mouth of Rio Motagua
Interceptor 021 deployed for testing (September 2024)
Interceptor 021 deployed for testing (September 2024)
Interceptor 021 deployed in EL Quatzelito, at the mouth of Rio Motagua

One of the anchors of Interceptor 021 at the deployment site in El Quetzalito
Assembly of Interceptor 021 barriers in El Quetzalito, Guatemala
Guatemala coastline littered with trash

Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, holding a sample LP
Sample LP tested at Sonopress (Eco LP producer) of Coldplay's new limited edition album made with recycled river plastic. The Ocean Cleanup has provided PET caught by Interceptor 006 in Guatemala.
Sample LP at Sonopress (Eco LP producer) of Coldplay's new limited edition album made with recycled river plastic. The Ocean Cleanup has provided PET caught by Interceptor 006 in Guatemala.
The Ocean Cleanup crew visiting Sonopress (Eco LP producer) to follow the production process of Coldplay's latest limited edition LP
Boyan Slat (Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup) with Coldplay. Credits: Anna Lee Media

The Ocean Cleanup's Interceptor 006 in Guatemala. The Ocean Cleanup has provided PET caught by this Intercpetor for the production of Coldplay's latest limited edition LP.
The Ocean Cleanup's Interceptor 006 in Guatemala (downstream barrier). The Ocean Cleanup has provided PET caught by this Intercpetor for the production of Coldplay's latest limited edition LP.
The Ocean Cleanup's Interceptor 006 in Guatemala (upstream barrier). The Ocean Cleanup has provided PET caught by this Intercpetor for the production of Coldplay's latest limited edition LP.
Coldplay helped The Ocean Cleanup deploy Interceptor 005 in Malaysia
Coldplay has sponsored the deployment of Interceptor 005, in Klang, Malaysia in 2021
Coldplay has helped sponsor Interceptor 020, to be deployed in Indonesia

System 03 deployed for the first time into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (August 2023).
Plastic catch onboard the support vessels of System 03
System 03's retention zone hauled on deck for emptying
System 03's retention zone hauled on deck for emptying
Aerial view of System 03

Plastic catch onboard the support vessels of System 03
Plastic catch onboard the support vessels of System 03
Plastic catch onboard the support vessels of System 03
Crew sorting plastic on deck after System 03 extraction
Crew sorting plastic on deck after System 03 extraction
The Ocean Cleanup is cleaning up plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest known accumulation zone of plastic. This patch is halfway between Hawaii and California **Pictured: System 03. The Ocean Cleanup plans to scale up to a total of 10 systems in order to effectively clean up this garbage patch**
Part of System 03 can be seen laying on deck, moments before being deployed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
System 03 deployed for the first time into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (August 2023). View from the Retention Zone.
System 03, also known as "Josh".
System 03's Retention Zone being inspected on deck. Human for scale.
The retention zone of System 03
Sorting of trash extracted by System 03 on deck

System 03 Catch Extraction
1m11 360,2 MB
Drone footage of System 03
1m09 348,2 MB

Trash accumulated against the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala during the first flood of 2024
Interceptor Barricade catching a trash flood in the Rio Las Vacas in April 2024, Guatemala
Excavators removing the trash captured by Interceptor 006 in Guatemala (April 2024)
Excavators removing trash from the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala, Rio Las Vacas (July 2023)
Excavators removing trash from the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala, Rio Las Vacas (July 2023)

Trash accumulated against the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala, Rio Las Vacas
Excavators removing trash from the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala, Rio Las Vacas (July 2023)
Excavators removing trash from the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala, Rio Las Vacas (July 2023)
Downstream boom of the Interceptor 006, Rio Las Vacas, Guatemala
Interceptor 006 installed for testing in Rio Las Vacas, Guatemala

Interceptor 006 in Guatemala preventing a trash flood from flowing into the Caribbean Sea (April 2024)
0m55 436,9 MB
Excavators extracting the waste accumulated in the Rio Las Vacas after the trash flood in April 2024
0m59 306,1 MB
Trash intercepted, extracted, and prevented from reaching the Caribbean Sea in Guatemala (2023)
0m47 249,44 MB
Trash Accumulated in front of Barricade (July 2023)
0m47 229,03 MB

Installation of Interceptor 006 in Rio Las Vacas River, Guatemala
2m09 107,18 MB
Start of operations of the Interceptor 006, Rio Las Vacas River, Guatemala
0m57 46,16 MB

Interceptor 019 in Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, Thailand (February 2024)
Interceptor 019 in Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, Thailand (February 2024)
Interceptor 019 in Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand.
Deployment of Interceptor 019 in Bangkok, Thailand
Interceptor Barrier (011) in Tivoli Gully, Kingston Harbour, Jamaica

Interceptor 007, Ballona Creek, Los Angeles County (November, 2022)
Interceptor 007, Ballona Creek, Los Angeles County (November, 2022)
Interceptor 007 offloading, Ballona Creek, Los Angeles County (November, 2022)
Interceptor 007 in Los Angeles County, Ballona Creek
Interceptor 004 in the Rio Ozama, Dominican Republic, summer 2020
Interceptor 004 in the Rio Ozama, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, August 2020
Interceptor 004 in the Rio Ozama, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, August 2020
Interceptor 004 in the Rio Ozama, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, August 2020
Trash accumulation near the Interceptor Barrier in Kingston Harbour, Jamaica
Interceptor 010 in Barnes Gully, Kingston Harbour, Jamaica
View from above of the Interceptor Barrier, Tivoli Gully, Kingston Harbour, Jamaica
Kingston Harbour, Jamaica, Barnes Gully barrier
Interceptor 003 deployed in Can Tho river, Vietnam
Excavators removing trash from the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala, Rio Las Vacas (July 2023)
Excavators removing trash from the Interceptor Barricade in Guatemala, Rio Las Vacas (July 2023)
Boyan Slat on board Interceptor 002 in Klang River, Malaysia
Interceptor™ 002 in Klang river, Selangor, Malaysia
Conveyor belt in Interceptor™ 002 in Klang river, Selangor, Malaysia
Interceptor™ 002 in Klang river, Selangor, Malaysia
Interceptor 005 deployed in Klang river, Malaysia.
Interceptor 005 in Klang River, Malaysia. Interceptor 005 is our first Gen 3 Interceptor Original deployed.
Interceptor™ 002 in Klang river, Selangor, Malaysia
Interceptor 001™ in Cengkareng drain, Jakarta, Indonesia

Interceptors in Jamaica: 008-012
1m59 573,33 MB
Interceptor 002 in the Klang river, Malaysia
0m58 294.17 MB
Interceptor 007 in Los Angeles
2m08 616,40 MB
Interceptor™ 005 in Klang River, Klang, Malaysia
0m59 426,23 MB

Interceptor™ 004 in Rio Ozama, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
1m52 538,52 MB
Interceptor™ 003 in Can Tho River, Vietnam
0m31 151,88 MB
Interceptor™ 002 in Klang River, Klang, Malaysia
1m27 1,90GB
Interceptor™ 001 in Cengkareng drain, Jakarta, Indonesia
0m39 875 MB

Plastic catch sealed off in containers. This is some of our first plastic catch, caught by System 001/B in 2019. The plastic in the end product - the sunglasses - is certified from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, following a chain of custody protocol by DNV.
Boyan Slat presenting the sunglasses to an online audience in 2020
Boyan Slat standing with first plastic catch onshore at end of the System 001/B testing. The press conference was in Vancouver, Canada, in December 2019.
DNV Auditor inspecting the pre-sorting of our first plastic catch in February, 2020. The plastic in the end product - the sunglasses - was certified from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, following a chain of custody protocol by DNV.
Ghost nets being processed for recycling into granulate.

Granulate created from the catch from System 001/B.
Granulate created from the catch from System 001/B
The Ocean Cleanup material ready to be processed into the end product - The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses
The Ocean Cleanup material made with plastic recycled from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Base material creation, July 2020
The Valorization team (The Ocean Cleanup) prototyping the product with Safilo, our sunglasses production partner for the first plastic catch
Protoypes for The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses
The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses with recycled case and pouch
On October 24th, 2020, we unveiled the first product to a digital audience. Supporters unboxed their sunglasses live.
Boyan Slat standing with plastic caught during the System 001/B campaign
Boyan Slat presenting The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses, October 24th 2020
The Ocean Cleanup® Sunglasses with case and pouch, made with recycled materials
The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses in their recycled pouch and case
The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses, made with recycled plastic certified from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Manufacturing (2020)
1m30 110,71MB
Recycling the plastic (2020)
0m37 182,13MB
Sorting the plastic (2020)
1m05 317,89 MB
First plastic sealed and offloaded (2019)
0m43 85.1MB

Full Circle: How We Turn Trash into Treasure (2020)
5m53 8MB
Full Circle, Explained, animated by in60seconds (2020)
1m48 155,22MB
The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses Studio Shots (2020)
0m24 48,60 MB

Boyan Slat speaking in San Francisco, Sept. 2024.
Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO, on a beach in Honduras. Rio Motagua basin has its estuary close to this beach. The Rio Las Vacas in Guatemala, in which The Ocean Cleanup is trialing an Interceptor Trashfence, is leading into Rio Motagua. The plastic pollution on the beach is estimated to come from this source.
Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO, on a beach in Honduras. Rio Motagua basin has its estuary close to this beach. The Rio Las Vacas in Guatemala, in which The Ocean Cleanup is trialing an Interceptor Trashfence, is leading into Rio Motagua. The plastic pollution on the beach is estimated to come from this source.
Boyan Slat standing in front of the 1000 most polluting rivers maps. A model the Research team of The Ocean Cleanup mapped.

Boyan Slat standing by a pile of trash in Guatemala. The Ocean Cleanup has cleanup activities in Guetamala to stop the infamous trash tsunamis leaking out into the Caribbean Sea.
Boyan Slat in Guetamala. The Ocean Cleanup has an Interceptor in Guetamala to stop the tsunami of trash that comes down the Rio Las Vacas and Rio Motagua. Here, they are inspecting the river Rio Motagua from above.
Boyan Slat unveiling the Interceptor, October 26th, 2019
Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO, on a beach in Honduras. Rio Motagua basin has its estuary close to this beach. The Rio Las Vacas in Guatemala, in which The Ocean Cleanup is trialing an Interceptor Trashfence, is leading into Rio Motagua. The plastic pollution on the beach is estimated to come from this source.
Boyan Slat looking at pollution in a river in Guatemala
Boyan Slat on board of Interceptor 002 in Klang River, Malaysia
Boyan Slat on board Interceptor 002 in Klang River, Malaysia
Boyan Slat at the Interceptor location in Klang river, Malaysia
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, September 8, 2018 – The Ocean Cleanup Launched System 001 into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch from San Francisco - Photo: Pierre AUGIER for The OCEAN CLEANUP
Boyan Slat at the Interceptor in Klang river, Malaysia
Boyan Slat on top of System 001, September 2018, before its launch into the North Pacific.
Boyan Slat with the Interceptor, October 2019
Boyan Slat at the Interceptor location in Klang river, Malaysia
Boyan Slat in a fireside chat with Hege Marie Norheim at the ONS conference in Norway, August 31, 2016. Photo by Morten Berentsen.
Boyan Slat with Coldplay, who funded Interceptor 005, aka "Neon moon", in the Klang river, Malaysia.
Boyan Slat and an Interceptor being assembled
Boyan Slat standing in front of the Interceptor Trashfence in Guatemala after its failure.
Inside view of an Interceptor, with Boyan Slat
Boyan Slat standing in front of the Interceptor Trashfence in Guatemala after its failure.
Boyan Slat in front of the vessel ready go out with System 03 for the first time (August 2023).

Motagua River, Guatemala, plastic pollution
Plastic pollution washed up on a beach in Dominican Republic
Plastic pollution on beach next to the river mouth of Motagua river
A young monk seal on Laysan Island holds a plastic fragment in his mouth. **Photo credits: Matthew Chauvin**

A bird surrounded by ocean plastic on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. **Photo credits: Matthew Chauvin**
Plastic floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Plastic debris washed up from a river in Indonesia.
Plastic bottles floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Crate dating back to the 1977 from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, caught durign the Mega Expedition (2015).
Hard hat (1989) from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, caught during the Mega Expedition (2015)
Nintendo Gameboy piece (1995) from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, caught during the Mega Expedition (2015)
River plastic in Guatemala
River plastic in Rio Las Vacas, Guatemala
River pollution in Malaysia
The crew retrieves a large ghostnet from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, November 2018.
Ghostnet hauled aboard during Mega Expedition 2015
Plastic pollution in the Las Vacas River, Guatemala
Mass accumulation of plastic pollution in the Las Vacas River, Guatemala
Plastic pollution pervading the Ozama River, Dominican Republic
Plastic pollution in Ozama river, Dominican Republic
Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, Thailand
Plastic pollution in Rio Las Vacas, Guatemala
Plastic pollution on a beach in Honduras

1.6 million square kilometers, three times the size of France - Illustration (gif)
1.8 trillion pieces of plastic - Illustration (gif)
How plastic pollution travels up the food chain
The 5 ocean gyres, where currents converge forming a vortex for plastic to circulate in.

The Ocean Cleanup's 1000 rivers map, available at theoceancleanup.com/1000rivers/
From land-based mismanaged plastic waste to riverine plastic emissions
The ratio between plastic production and plastic leaking into the ocean
Accumulative distribution of riverine plastic emission into the ocean.
The 1000 rivers model framework
The top 1000 rivers emit 20 million garbage bins of 240L per year. That's on average 20,000 bins per river.
Accumulative distribution of riverine plastic emissions into the ocean.
Plastic emissions per continent
Riverine plastic emissions into the oceans per river class
Plastic emissions per country
Plastic emissions - India
Plastic emissions - Guatemala
Plastic emissions - Venezuela
Plastic emissions - Malaysia
Plastic emissions - Indonesia
Plastic emissions - Philippines
Plastic emissions - China

Ocean Plastic Pollution Explained
7m05 266,8 MB
1000 rivers explained
2m26 214,35 MB
River plastic pollution
1m16 153,78 MB

Manta trawl (starboard) and underwater trawl (stern - cable from blue A-frame) during deep sea research mission 2018. The aim of the mission was to see if the plastic afloat in ocean garbage patches can pollute the deep sea below.
CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Density) profiler during deep sea research, 2018. The aim of the mission was to see if plastic floating in ocean garbage patches can pollute the deep sea below
Counting and categorizing the sampled microplastic during the deep sea expedition 2018. The aim of the mission was to see if the plastic afloat in ocean garbage patches can pollute the deep sea below.
River plastic research in Malaysia, conducted by The Ocean Cleanup crew and local research partners.
River plastic research in Guatemala

River plastic research in Malaysia, conducted by The Ocean Cleanup crew and local research partners
River plastic research in Malaysia, conducted by The Ocean Cleanup crew and local research partners.
The Ocean Cleanup research team processes ocean plastic samples in the laboratory.
The Ocean Cleanup research team processes ocean plastic samples in the laboratory.
Laurent Lebreton, Lead Oceanographer at The Ocean Cleanup, carrying out desk research
Counting of microplastics in The Ocean Cleanup's lab
Lead Oceanographer Laurent Lebreton logging data aboard the Ocean Force One during the Aerial Expedition, 2016.
Ocean Force One's arrival at Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, California, Aerial Expedition 2016
The Ocean Cleanup team and Aerial Expedition crew
Aerial Expedition 2016: Sensor equipment; a CZMIL system which uses LiDAR to create a 3D-image of the ghost nets (left), and a SASI hyperspectral SWIR imaging system, which uses an infrared camera to detect ocean plastic (right).
Mega Expedition mothership R/V Ocean Starr fully deployed above the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 2015.
Trawling in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Surface sampling ‘Manta trawl’ in action. With a trawl, you can see how much microplastic there is per area trawled.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), as mapped by The Ocean Cleanup in 2015-2016.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch in Numbers - Infographic
Composition of the inner GPGP. Currently, about 5-10% of its mass is microplastics.
The journey of floating ocean plastic from rivers to garbage patches
Future scenarios for macroplastics in the GPGP. The dark band shows what would happen without any change. Addressing the source (left) causes the amount of ocean pollution to stay constant. Combining source reduction with cleanup (right) causes the amount of ocean pollution to decline.

Projection of floating plastic mass in ocean surface layer
Age distribution of floating plastic objects found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Modeled age distribution of plastic

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