€7.5 billion are needed to clean up plastic masses in the Pacific Ocean within a decade

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch floating in the northern Pacific Ocean could be cleaned up in 10 years at a cost of 7.5 billion euros. However, if drones are used to map the floating plastic mass in the foreseeable future, the large amount of plastic could disappear in five years and at a cost of 4 billion euros, reports the organization The Ocean Cleanup. Previously, the organization of Dutchman Boyan Slat had reported that the plastic soup would be history by 2040.

If the plastic soup can be mapped with flying drones, fewer dangers are likely. Based on this mapping, a more efficient route can be determined to clean the “plastic soup”, which is always on the move and not equally concentrated everywhere. And that saves time and money, explains a spokesperson for The Ocean Cleanup.

However, money is needed for the cleanup. And if the northern Pacific is to be cleaned of plastic within five years, a lot of money will be needed in the short term to make the cleanup process smarter. The organization is therefore calling on governments, companies, individuals and organizations to donate money.

The organization wants to act as quickly as possible because collecting plastic waste is not only a question of money, but also a question of time. “Floating plastics trapped in the patches will keep circulating until they break down into smaller and smaller pieces, becoming harder to clean up and increasingly easier to mistake for food by sea life. If left to circulate, the plastic will impact our ecosystems, health, and economies for decades or even centuries,” the Ocean Cleanup stresses.

“Clean oceans can be achieved in a manageable timeframe and at a manageable cost,” said Slat. According to him, the resources needed to clean up the oceans are available. “We have shown the world that the impossible is now possible. The only thing missing is who will make sure it gets done.”