Marc Benioff Bets on Cleanup Tech for Ocean Trash
As a boy tinkerer in the Netherlands, Boyan Slat made zip lines and, at age 14, set a Guinness World Record for launching the most water rockets—213 of them—at once. In hindsight, Slat says, “I just didn’t have a real problem to work on.” Soon, he found one. Michelle Groskopf Slat’s goal was to build a system that uses ocean currents to push trash into a “passive collector,” which acts like an enormous lint trap, snaring everything from discarded fishing nets to scraps of plastic a few millimeters across. Marc Benioff, who contributed to the $22 million that the Ocean Cleanup raised last year, calls the problem of plastic pollution “out of control.” Noting that plastics have been in widespread use for only about 50 years, he adds, “Where are we going to be in another 50?” Already, one of the Ocean Cleanup’s first projects—a 30-boat trawl and airborne survey of the GPGP—concluded that the patch contains around 80,000 metric tons of plastic, far more than previously believed. Update 9-18-2018, 1:40 pm EDT: This story has been revised to correctly describe Marc Benioff's contribution to the Ocean Cleanup.
Discover Related
Beach clean up drive launched in city
Scientists are racing to discover the depth of ocean damage sparked by LA wildfires
Garbage dumpyard in Pacific Ocean is getting bigger and bigger
Cleaning Up Pristine Beaches Means Spotting Plastic Trash From Space
Cleanliness drive clears 400 kg of solid waste
Ocean technology hub AltaSea blooms on San Pedro waterfront
Massive dumping ground of WWII-era munitions discovered off Los Angeles coast
Coastal clean-up drive held on Lakshadweep islands
In the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, coastal life piggybacks on plastic trash
Microplastics Are Polluting the Ocean at a Shocking Rate
The mysterious items washing up on beaches
Beachgoers face risk of more pollution as campaigners call for action on sewage
Beach warriors to the rescue: Versova beach throws up 9.5mt of garbage after 4 years
Ocean Cleanup pulls first 100,000 kg of plastic from Pacific
Trash-snaring vessel to clean Newport Beach waters gains Coastal Commission approval
Ocean Cleanup pulling plastic out of world's most polluted river in Guatemala
World Oceans Day 2022: Why Is Plastic Waste A Problem?
AP PHOTOS: As world marks Earth Day, trash still big problem
How a 'motley crew' of citizen scientists is helping to save the Great Barrier Reef