The Ocean Cleanup Nets 11,000+ Tons of Trash in Record-Breaking 2024; Declares Great Pacific Garbage Patch Cleanup Achievable
In 2024, The Ocean Cleanup announced a massive year of progress, collecting over 11,000 tons of trash from both oceans and rivers—surpassing the total impact of all previous years combined. [00:07]
Key achievements include:
- Ocean Operations: The organization optimized System 03 in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), completing 112 extractions. Based on this performance, they declared in September that cleaning the GPGP is both achievable and affordable. [00:40]
- River Interceptors: New River Interceptors were deployed globally, including a flagship model in Bangkok and Barricade XL (Interceptor 21)—their largest Interceptor to date—at the mouth of the Rio Motagua in Guatemala. This massive barrier now serves as a last line of defense for the Gulf of Honduras, home to the second-largest coral reef in the world. [01:31]
- Unique Collaborations: The Ocean Cleanup partnered with brands to turn collected plastic into useful products, such as using plastic from Guatemala to manufacture Coldplay’s limited edition Moon Music record, and transforming GPGP plastic into the world’s first car product made with ocean plastic (a trunk liner for the Kia EV3). [02:09]
The video concludes by thanking its followers and looking forward to making an even greater impact in 2025. [02:54]
Credit: The Ocean Cleanup, December 17, 2024
