SeaVax

Remediation Strategy

Collection

Plastic Type

Macroplastics

Invention Category

Boats with Conveyor Belts

Used?

Included in analysis?

Yes

Location Invented

United Kingdom

Year^*

2015

Description

Solar- and wind-powered ship collects plastic and other debris; sensors detect waste and sonar protects fish and other animals from being collected.

Effectiveness or Ecological Impact

Non-peer-reviewed Effectiveness

The SeaVax filters 89.9 million liters of seawater in a year, translating to 22,400,000 kilograms of plastic from a body of water that has high concentrations of surface solid plastic. The SeaVax can carry about 150 tons of weight until it needs to be off loaded (“Solar-Powered Vacuum Could Suck Up 24,000 Tons of Ocean Plastic Every Year,” 2016).

References

EcoWatch. (2016, February 19). Solar-Powered Vacuum Could Suck Up 24,000 Tons of Ocean Plastic Every Year. EcoWatch. https://www.ecowatch.com/solar-powered-vacuum-could-suck-up-24-000-tons-of-ocean-plastic-every-1882175554.html; 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; SeaVax Robotic Vacuum Ship. (n.d.). Bluebird Marine Systems. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.bluebird-electric.net/oceanography/Ocean_Plastic_International_Rescue/SeaVax_Ocean_Clean_Up_Robot_Drone_Ship_Sea_Vacuum.htm

Non-peer-reviewed Effectiveness

Solar-Powered Vacuum Could Suck Up 24,000 Tons of Ocean Plastic Every Year. (2016). EcoWatch. https://www.ecowatch.com/solar-powered-vacuum-could-suck-up-24-000-tons-of-ocean-plastic-every-1882175554.html

* Year designates the year invented; if the year invented was unavailable, the earliest year that an article about the technology was published was used.