B. Removing Plastic from the Ocean

Over 5 trillion pieces of plastic currently litter the ocean.

1. The Ocean Cleanup Foundation

Website: https://www.theoceancleanup.com

There are a number of very worthy foundations that are addressing the problem of plastic in the ocean. Many of them work to clean up beaches and harbors and reduce the amount of plastic entering the ocean. However, we felt that there was a need to address the problem directly — i.e. remove the plastic that is now in the ocean. We felt that The Ocean Cleanup Foundation https://www.theoceancleanup.com was addressing this directly.

This trash accumulates in five ocean garbage patches, the largest one being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California, is about the size of Texas. If left to circulate, the plastic will impact our ecosystems, health and economies. Solving it requires a combination of closing the source, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean.

The ocean garbage patches are vast and dispersed. Ocean currents concentrate plastic in five areas in the world: the subtropical gyres, also known as the world's "ocean garbage patches". Once in these patches, the plastic will not go away by itself. The challenge of cleaning up the gyres is the plastic pollution spreads across millions of square kilometers and travels in all directions. Covering this area using vessels and nets would take thousands of years and cost billions of dollars to complete.

Research shows the majority of plastic by mass is currently in the larger debris. By removing the plastic while most of it is still large, we prevent it from breaking down into dangerous microplastics. Our passive systems are estimated to remove half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just five years, and at a fraction of that cost.

The system consists of a 600-meter-long floater that sits at the surface of the water and a tapered 3-meter-deep skirt attached below. The floater provides buoyancy to the system and prevents plastic from flowing over it, while the skirt stops debris from escaping underneath. Both the plastic and system are being carried by the current. However, wind and waves propel only the system, as the floater sits just above the water surface, while the plastic is primarily just beneath it. The system thus moves faster than the plastic, allowing the plastic to be captured.

Our floating systems are designed to capture plastics ranging from small pieces just millimeters in size, up to large debris, including massive discarded fishing nets (ghost nets), which can be tens of meters wide. Models show that a full-scale cleanup system roll-out (a fleet of approximately 60 systems) could clean 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just five years. After fleets of systems are deployed into every ocean gyre, combined with source reduction, The Ocean Cleanup projects to be able to remove 90% of ocean plastic by 2040.

Each system will be equipped with lanterns, radar reflectors, navigational signals, GPS and anti-collision beacons. The AIS will continuously broadcast the location of the systems to passing vessels and the GPS will track the location of our systems, should they veer out of the patch. The US Coast Guard will chart the area as a special operations zone and will issue a Notice to Mariners concerning the presence of our systems. They have also conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) through an independent agency, CSA Ocean Sciences, which did not identify any major risks of our method to the environment.

The system has been engineered and tested to utilize and withstand the forces of the ocean. The key to survivability is flexibility. We designed the system to be limber enough to be able to follow the waves, and because the system is free-floating, it can drift when subjected to high current speeds. In May 2018, a 120-meter section of the system successfully passed a tow test in the Pacific Ocean, being subjected to waves of up to 5 meters.

However, more recent updates report that this apparatus a) was not totally effective in scooping up the plastics, and b) it broke and had to be towed to Hawaii. Hopefully these are temporary setbacks that will be solved.

October 2019: The problems with the ocean cleanup technology have been solved. Attention has now been focused on cleaning up the source of the plastic in the oceans — the rivers. Monitoring rivers worldwide has shown that 1,000 rivers are contributing 80% of the plastic to the ocean. The Ocean Cleanup has developed a river cleanup machine. For details go to their site (above).

2. 5 Gyres

Our mission is to empower action against the global health crisis of plastic pollution through science, education, and adventure. Our vision is a world free of plastic pollution!

A gyre is a large-scale system of wind-driven surface currents in the ocean. The gyres referred to in the name of our organization are the five main subtropical gyres — located in the North and South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean — which are massive, circular current systems.

Solutions are found when organizations like 5 Gyres work with people, politicians and corporations to stop emissions at the source. Microbeads are a great example. During a 2012 5 Gyres expedition, we found plastic microbeads — tiny round microplastics used in personal care products — in the Great Lakes in an open-water setting. That research started a movement, which culminated in President Obama signing the Microbead Free Waters Act in 2015.

In 2017, the United Nations announced its #CleanSeas initiative to eliminate single-use plastic bags and microplastics in cosmetics by 2022. With better communication of new science, increased attention to improved waste management, and smarter plastic product design, the problem of plastic debris drifting in the furthest reaches of the planet can be controlled.

The 5 Gyres Institute — 5792 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016

3. The Plastic Solutions Fund

The Plastic Solutions Fund supports projects aimed at reducing production of single use plastic and packaging, with a focus on key drivers of system change in the plastic supply chain.

Eliminating Taiwan's "Notorious Five": This proposal is aimed to eliminate (or reduce to a minimum) the top 5 disposable plastic products by 2020, including plastic bags, Styrofoam products, multi-material sachets, plastic utensils and straws, sanitary pads and disposable diapers.

In the Story of Plastic, an 11 episode web series, we'll meet change makers from all over the world who are fighting back against big plastic — from the extraction of fossil fuels to make plastic, how plastic waste flows around the world and the citizens it affects, as well as industry's aggressive push to open new markets regardless of their ability to digest or manage plastic waste.

Zero Waste Cities Grantees: GAIA, Mother Earth Foundation, Pecinta Budaya Bebali (YPPB), Thanal, Stree Mukti Sanghatana (SMS), Health Care Without Harm, EcoWaste Coalition, Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG).

4. Oceans 5

Website: https://www.oceans5.org

Oceans 5 includes new and experienced philanthropists with a common inspiration for collaborative, results-oriented grant making. We share a desire to secure tangible improvements in global ocean health, while also strengthening ocean conservation philanthropy.

Oceans 5 makes direct grants, leverages matching grants, provides in-kind services and shares strategic guidance — all to support our grantees. We focus on projects and campaigns to constrain overfishing and to establish marine reserves. We prefer projects that engage multiple organizations working toward common objectives over discrete periods of time.

Oceans 5 is an international funders collaborative comprised of Partners and Members who help identify, assess and approve projects for investment. The collaborative is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that manages more than $280 million in charitable giving.