Effectiveness or Ecological Impact
Non-peer-reviewed Effectiveness
The Ocean Cleanup projects to be able to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040 (Koop, 2021).
Ecological Impact
Zooplankton that encounter the skirts of the system are likely killed (Falk-Andersson et al., 2020; Paris et al., 2022).
References
BeauHD. (2018). Giant Trap Deployed To Catch Plastic Littering the Pacific Ocean Isn’t Working—Slashdot. Slashdot. https://news.slashdot.org/story/18/12/19/2258219/giant-trap-deployed-to-catch-plastic-littering-the-pacific-ocean-isnt-working.; Carr, A. (2017). Massive Cleanup of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to Start Next Year. The Weather Channel. https://weather.com/science/environment/news/the-ocean-cleanup-great-pacific-garbage-patch-plastics; Cross, L. (2019, June 26). Trash collecting device returned to Pacific garbage patch. Inhabitat. https://inhabitat.com/trash-collecting-device-returned-to-pacific-garbage-patch/; Edwards, T. (2016, August 22). Inventing to Clean Up the Ocean [Text]. Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. https://invention.si.edu/inventing-clean-ocean; Gertz, E. (2014, July 16). Does “The Ocean Cleanup” Stand Up To Peer Review? Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/article/science/does-ocean-cleanup-stand-peer-review/; Hill, T. (2016). Can these inventions save oceans from our plastic habit? Take Part. http://www.takepart.com/feature/2016/06/27/oceans-cleanup> Howard, B., Gibbens, S., Zachos, E., & Parker, L. (2019). A Running List of Action on Plastic Pollution. University of San Diego. https://www.sandiego.edu/news/detail.php/news/in-the-news.php?_focus=71913; Knapton, S. (2017, February 11). Our seas have become a plastic graveyard—But can technology turn the tide? The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/02/11/seas-have-become-plastic-graveyard-can-technology-turn-tide/; Lim, X. (2018, September 8). This Ocean Cleanup System Aims To Collect 50 Tons Of Plastic. But Then What? HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ocean-cleanup-plastic-waste-collection_n_5b925b0be4b0162f472c3896; T.K. Miller
The Millenium Falcon in my stomach; or, a plastic token of disease and indifference
Berfrois. (2018); Onorevole, K. (2016). The Value of Invention: 3 Years of the Ocean Cleanup (and UNdertheC!). Under the C. https://underthecblog.org/2016/10/14/the-value-of-invention-3-years-of-the-ocean-cleanup-and-underthec/; Papadopoulos, L. (2019, February 22). 7 Inventions That Are Literally Saving Our Oceans. Interesting Engineering. https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/7-inventions-that-are-literally-saving-our-oceans; Ryall, J. (2015, December 31). Revolutionary system promises to recover plastic rubbish from world’s oceans. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/12058354/Revolutionary-system-promises-to-recover-plastic-rubbish-from-worlds-oceans.html; Shah, S. (2017, June 5). The Ocean CleanUp: Boyan Slat’s Initiative to Sustaining Life Below Water. AIESEC | Blog. https://blog.aiesec.org/the-ocean-cleanup/; Spary, S. (2018). A Giant Ocean “Pac Man” Has Just Been Dropped Into The Pacific To Gobble Up Plastic. Huffpost. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/giant-ocean-pac-man-has-just-been-dropped-into-the-pacific-to-gobble-up-plastic_uk_5bc59e95e4b0d38b5870f419?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIcC1Lf4p3V3a3eABXLjqr6A5BHIcziZsqGrIotyJvmOHtr3q5t-7iIzDKwXkH72ue7Gxl5vvEw5lFTs3bLraDpbfK1YEe9vSwAXf8OYQZ1JBpi5wKqm18LOq-YYq4RMTcIGMjRl_EzaBSQF626CBllWounfFT2_JF9aovBDN17V&guccounter=2.; The Ocean Cleanup. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://theoceancleanup.com/; SOURCE. (2018, September 11). Will the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Meet Its Match? Floating Trash Collector Just Left San Francisco on a Mission. OB Rag. https://obrag.org/2018/09/will-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-meet-its-match-floating-trash-collector-just-left-san-francisco-on-a-mission/; Wamsley, L. (n.d.). A Massive Floating Boom Is Supposed To Clean Up The Pacific. Can It Work? NPR. Retrieved September 7, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2018/09/11/646724291/a-massive-floating-boom-is-supposed-to-clean-up-the-pacific-can-it-work; Wright, P. (2018). Young Inventor to Put Ocean-Saving Device to the Test by Scooping up Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Weather Channel. https://weather.com/science/environment/news/2018-08-08-invention-ocean-garbage-patch-pacific-plastics
Non-peer-reviewed Effectiveness
Koop, F. (2021, October 19). This device just cleaned up 9,000 kilograms of trash out of the ocean. ZME Science. https://www.zmescience.com/science/this-device-just-cleaned-up-9000-kilograms-of-trash-out-of-the-ocean/; Leatherman, 2015
Ecological Impact
Falk-Andersson J, Larsen Haarr M, Havas V. Basic principles for development and implementation of plastic clean-up technologies: What can we learn from fisheries management? Science of The Total Environment. 2020 Nov 25;745:141117.; Paris, A., Kwaoga, A., & Hewavitharane, C. (2022). An assessment of floating marine debris within the breakwaters of the University of the South Pacific, Marine Studies Campus at Laucala Bay. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 174, 113290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113290
* Year designates the year invented; if the year invented was unavailable, the earliest year that an article about the technology was published was used.