Capturing plastic really did something. Seeing the system out there
seeing the plastic being caught. Seeing something that works
that performs like expected, builds confidence in what we're doing
And that we're on the right track at this moment.
You see it? yeah!
It's all tiny particles also!
We choked the majority of the plastic.
We'll start operations to get it on board.
We've proved that our methodology of cleaning is actually feasible.
We have a speed difference with the plastic and we were accumulating plastic
During this mission we actually
had an independent system in the water that got plastic by itself and retained
it and we could harvest this plastic
so the future is bright!
this was totally new
and I think we have achieved a lot and...
I believe in this one.
Boyan always thinks about improving and always ask questions
but I think for now, he would be silent for a bit
and just enjoy the moment
It was a really important moment
It was the moment that we went from
really just a promise to okay we can collect plastic in the Great pacific Garbage Patch.
And it can be done by a system by itself not
dragged by a ship or something.
It was really just our clean up system
autonomously collecting plastic
this is one big back per day, per system. And it's a tiny system
Imagine what we can do when we have 60 systems
which are at least three to four times
as large this one that pulls down to four big backs per day per system
so that in total is 240 big bags of plastic per day
for the cleanup to happen, it's not enough to have a technical solution that works
but we also need a solution to the financial challenge
how to keep the cleanup operation going
because of course once the systems are out there
If there's not some kind of model to keep it going financially
it's not going to happen.
We believe the answer to this question lies
in the plastic that we take out of the ocean
because the idea is to take that plastic
to recycle it into beautiful sustainable products and with that fund
the continuation of the cleanup.
of course we're nonprofit. Nobody is going to make any money with this.
it's just about continuing the cleanup
The material we collect is complete garbage.
It has been in the ocean for decades
sometimes up to 50 years. it's degraded.
It has salt on it. It has algae on it.
It's really stinky and dirty and a total mess.
So I think it's really going to be special
to have something made from this material
because it's not just any plastic
It's plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
It's like the difference between a normal rock and a rock from the moon.
It's still a rock but it has the story behind it.
So when we say these products are made from ocean plastic
what we mean is that the plastic is actually coming from the ocean
because right now the definition of ocean plastic is really Shady
could come from anywhere. it's defined as plastic collected near the ocean.
So we really want to bring the truth to the market and we really want to guarantee
to the people that support us, that this plastic
is coming from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
We are tagging the bags of plastic that have been filled during trip one
So that it can be certified that it comes from the Pacific.
so we've been collaborating with DNV-GL
to be able to certify plastic that's actually coming from the oceans
so they keep track of
the plastic to the whole chain from it being collected all the way to it being
turned into products and every step in between is being tracked to ensure that
we can really promise that this material
has come from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch