However, this requires “radical changes at the individual, corporate, and governmental levels of society” (TOC, n.d.C).ĭespite the ambition to accomplish a plastic free ocean and the received recognition, the TOC project has received criticism as well. If TOC’s operations were complemented by a considerable reduction of plastic sources on land, a plastic-free ocean could be accomplished by 2050 (TOC, 2020C). For example, TOC aims to reduce the amount of ocean plastic with 90% by 2040 (TOC, 20202D TOC, n.d.C). Although the figure is limited to the GPGP, TOC has equal long-term goals for other ocean garbage patches. The aim can be visualized in Figure 3, together with a scenario of no-action. The aim of the project is to clean-up half of the GPGP before 2025, and the remaining half before 2050. The barriers carry the collected plastic to a central point where ships are able to remove the plastic from the water, and transport it to the mainland for recycling. Marine life fishes can swim under the floating barriers placed in a V-shape. “Passively” means that the heavy work is delegated to ocean currents, while an artificial, floating coastline actively captures the plastic. TOC has been developing a technology that could passively collect half of the Pacific Ocean plastic waste within ten years. His idea became a pioneer project and inspired hundreds of people around the world (TOC, n.d.A). Boyan Slat, the initiator of The Ocean Cleanup (TOC) project, took the opportunity to create value from cleaning up parts of the ocean that are contaminated by plastic and other kinds of waste. Tackling these issues requires social entrepreneurship, meaning the skill to seek changes and turn issues into opportunities (Dees, 2001). If the situation remains unchanged, the amount of plastic waste gathered in landfills or the natural environment will more than double by 2050 (Geyer et al., 2017). 2018).įrom the 6.3 million metric tons of plastic waste that had been created in 2015, “around 9% of which had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment” (Geyer, Jambeck & Law, 2017, p.1). In addition, ocean currents can form extensive plastic fragments such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), which is supposed to cover a surface area triple the size of France (Lebreton et al. (2015, p.768) estimated that “275 million metric tons of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries with 4.8 to 12.7 million entering the ocean”, thus affecting all major ocean basins (Geyer et al., 2017). Plastic pollution in oceans was first documented in the 1970s. The United Nations (UN) identified plastic pollution as one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges (UN Environment Programme, 2018), and embedded it in the Sustainable Development Goal 14: “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources” (UN, n.d.).
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