With the recent announcement of our river cleanup technology, the Interceptor, Boyan Slat, founder and CEO, took to Twitter to answer some of the internet’s questions about this newly revealed project.
Here are some of the highlights from the Twitter AMA:
1. What countries are next for the interceptor? How quickly will it be scaled up? #askboyan
Aiming for about 10 successful Interceptor projects by end of next year. Prioritizing quality of quantity is especially important in first leg of ramp-up curve. No decision yet on next deployment countries. https://t.co/OtWh7wiyw3
— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 3, 2019
2. The interceptor scoops up dead leaves, dead plants, branches and mud. Does the removal of this material negatively impact the river environment? If yes, can this material be sorted from the plastic and other man-made waste and returned to the river?
System also collects dead leaves/twigs from river but
1) this is not necessarily bad as branches form hazard for boats & invasive water hyacinths often cause problems
2) when debris is sorted, organics could be returned to the river if desirable locally https://t.co/zvH3xKhi3O— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 3, 2019
3. Is it possible to add sensors for measuring i.e. weight or how many dumpsters each day are swopped, add GPS location, put this information on a online map with all the other Interceptors! Tell the story by making it visible!
Live camera feeds and data streams of the Interceptors will go live once 003 and 004 have been deployed. Should be in a few months! https://t.co/29ADVZlID5
— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 1, 2019
4. How much time does Interceptor need to fill all its containers in a typical Asian river? #AskBoyan
Between a few hours and a few days, depending on weather, debris load, location
— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 3, 2019
5. Will you be placing these systems close to where the river meets the ocean or further upstream?
downstream from last major sourcepoint
— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 3, 2019
6. You probably need lots of people to get all the Interceptors in the rivers. Will there come more vacancies? 😏 #AskBoyan
Definitely expanding the team in coming months with biggest growth in river team. See all current openings on https://t.co/ef4aZJYCMj https://t.co/YyhFgJp6ak
— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 3, 2019
7. #askboyan As a teacher who has been covering your journey with The Ocean Cleanup since last year with my students, what are the biggest lessons you have learned throughout this process? What advice would you pass on to 5th graders who are wanting to make a difference too?
Persistence, curiosity and intellectual honesty are the most important ingredients to get something big to work. It's what I value most in my team. https://t.co/Pz8zMQ6fqg
— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 3, 2019
You can find the full string of questions and answers here:
Will do an AMA here on twitter tomorrow (Sun 3 nov) @ 9am EST/ 3pm CET to answer your burning questions about our new river project, the Interceptor, or anything else really! Send in your questions by replying to this tweet or using #AskBoyan
— Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) November 2, 2019