Boyan Slat unveils The Ocean Cleanup’s First Product: Sunglasses

Hello to everyone around the world tuning in today and thank you for joining me on this very special day for the Ocean Cleanup. Well, what is today you might ask? Well, other than October 24th, today we will share how we're going to turn plastic pollution from a problem into a solution. And yes, it's also the day we're going to present the first product made from the Great Pacific Garbage Bank. But before we dive into this, I'd just like to start by reminding ourselves why we do what we do, why it's important that we clean this incredible part of our planet. Because as we all know, the oceans are being flooded with plastic and most of it is flowing in through rivers. This trash is polluting our ecosystems, making its way into the food chain and potentially even our own bodies. And the thing is, plastic is persistent, it doesn't go away by itself. In fact, by breaking down into microplastics, the plastic becomes more harmful the longer it stays in the ocean. So to solve the plastic pollution problem, yes, there is this monumental challenge ahead of us to stop more plastic from reaching the oceans. But this still leaves us with the legacy pollution, the plastic that is already floating out there. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of trash in the world. And I was four years old the year it was discovered. I'm not four years old right now, which begs the question, why hasn't humanity been able to clean it up, but instead allowed the patch to to double in size? I think there's two main reasons, one being technical and the other one relating to the ownership of the problem. Now ownership is going to be the main story today, but let's first talk technology, because it turned out it's quite a bit easier said than done. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located a thousand miles off the nearest shoreline, and actually at times the people closest to it are the astronauts in the International Space Station. It's really, really far away. And it's also quite big, it's twice the size of Texas, and on top of that sees some of the harshest conditions on the face of the planet. Eight years ago, I received the opportunity to to present a new idea on how the patch could be cleaned. Let's use our enemy to our advantage, okay? I believe the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can completely clean itself. I proposed a new cleanup concept that uses the forces of the ocean to to collect the plastic, working with nature instead of fighting against it. Little did I know about the magnitude of challenges that would be ahead of us, and I suppose it's actually a good thing, because if I would have known how difficult it would be, I probably wouldn't have started. Because already from the very beginning, I couldn't find any funding, and the response that we as a small group of volunteers got all the time was that cleaning the ocean would be impossible. But then something incredible happened. You happened. The presentation went viral, and my mailbox was flooded with thousands of offers to help from people around the world. And many thousands more then supported our crowdfunding campaign, allowing us to get started. And to this day, I'm still super thankful to everyone who allowed us and helped us in taking those very first baby steps. And then came the moment I was like, okay, great, but where on earth do we start? So I suddenly found myself on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a team of scientists to measure until what depth we would have to clean the ocean to to get the plastic out. Next, we mapped the patch by crossing it with 30 boats and an airplane. We conducted hundreds of scale model tests and deployed our first prototypes right behind me here on the North Sea. It was truly a lot of trial and error answering questions like, how do we capture both the large and the small pieces of plastic? And how do we ensure that it's safe for the environment? And then, after years of experimentation, we finally came to the point we believe we were ready to put the plan to the test for real inside the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. All these preparations culminated in a cleanup system we named Wilson. And in September of 2018, we launched the system from the San Francisco Bay. And it was just absolutely incredible to see this giant system getting towed out underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. So there you have it. We have just passed the Golden Gate Bridge, the iconic moment. We are ready to receive Wilson. I really believe that this can be a turning point for the world's fights in terms of solving the world's plastic pollution problem. Everything comes down to showing that the technology works. And that's the single most important thing that we're trying to achieve with system number one. We had high hopes for Wilson. And the stakes were, of course, very high. But soon, though, we discovered that while plastic was entering the system, it was also able to drift out again. It was basically like the most depressing game of ping pong. And then, a few days before the start of 2019, I got a call that changed everything. Wilson had broken into two. We had to bring it back to shore. We have a major structural failure. This was, without a doubt, the hardest period in our existence. But, of course, the problem wasn't any less urgent than the day before. As engineers, as technologists, it's very easy to just focus on the things that didn't go well, on those problems, because we're problem solvers. But at the same time, of course, there are many things that did go well. Just look at this. I think the plastic is within arm's reach, literally. So, I don't think we can be that far away from getting a system working. So, the team got back together, conducted a root cause analysis, and then went back to the drawing board to design the next iteration of the cleanup technology. And it was just really great to see how quickly the team jumped back into action after what really was a super heavy blow. Because within six months, we were back on our way to the patch with what they then called System 1B, ready to test possible solutions for retaining the plastic and keeping the system in one piece. We deployed the system in June, and then we waited, and waited, and waited some more. And there it was, the first plastic being cleaned from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Oh, huge amount of plastic. Here, it's all tiny particles also. From microscopic fragments, all the way up to giant fishing nets. And man, were we relieved when those first images came in. Then, a few months later, I personally got to witness the arrival of our first catch back in port, and seeing those containers, knowing that all of that trash came from the middle of the ocean. That was just really, really cool. Yet, of course, we're only just getting started. There's still quite a few things to iron out before we can actually deploy a full fleet of ocean cleanup systems. But it was still, I think, a key step on our way to clean oceans. And by the way, in parallel to all that work we were doing in the ocean, we also had a second team working on developing our solution for closing the tap in rivers. Several of these interceptors are now already operational, and we're soon scaling to many more around the world. Now, all of this has really only been possible because of you. The Ocean Cleanup wouldn't be existing today had it not been for the many supporters around the world who also believe in our mission to rid the world's oceans of plastic. So thank you. All right, so what you see laying here around me is a tiny selection of the kind of trash that we've pulled out of the patch. Now, once the cleanup is running at full scale, we're, of course, going to be stuck with mountains of this stuff coming back to port. And we have to do something with it. But what? This was yet another big and difficult question. But what if this catch is not a problem, but a solution? A solution for the second reason why the Great Pacific Garbage Patch hasn't been cleaned yet. Because it isn't just technically difficult to do. It's also in international waters. So it's really no one's responsibility to clean it up. Now, this is, I think, a very fundamental point. Because when you look at rivers, they're actually owned by someone. They're in national territory. So someone has an incentive to keep their river clean. So you can expect there to be a financial model to do this. But for the oceans, that's not the case. It's no man's land. So it's really no big surprise that the ocean hasn't been cleaned yet. Now, this is a problem we've been thinking about really since day one. And at that very first presentation, I shared an idea on how we could make the cleanup self-sustaining. The awesome surprise for me was that if we'd sell the plastics retrieved from the five giants, we'd make more than the plan would cost to execute. What if we could turn the pollution of yesterday into the cleanup of tomorrow? By recycling this catch, we could turn a problem into a solution to fund the continuation of the cleanup. The idea would be to take the plastic out of the ocean, to recycle it, sell it, and then use to proceed to actually take more plastic out of the ocean. It would be a perfect circle. The oceans would clean themselves. Now, we believe this might be possible because this is not just any plastic. This is plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch. So yes, this is garbage, but it's a special garbage. Compare it to the difference between, say, a rock and a rock from the moon. Chemically, they're actually very similar. But emotionally, they are very different things. And it's a special feeling when you hold this and you realize that if we wouldn't have taken it out of the oceans, it would still be out there polluting the ocean at this very moment, harming wildlife for many decades to come. Now, by turning this trash into beautiful, sustainable products, we hope to give everyone the opportunity to experience this feeling and, at the same time, help clean more plastic from the ocean. So that's the plan. Turning trash into treasure to clean up more trash. However, this, of course, was easier said than done because, as you can see, this trash is really a mixed bag of different kinds of plastic. It's been encrusted with salt and it's been exposed to the harsh conditions of the oceans for sometimes many decades. So no wonder that when we started playing with this idea, many people told us that we couldn't make anything out of this material, let alone something great. And because recycling this material has never been done before, it took a lot of experimentation to make it work. And I know at some point in time we even had one of the injection molding machines catch fire. So it's really been quite an adventure. But fortunately, we found a group of wonderful partners to sort the plastic, to wash it, to compound it, and to test it to make sure it's strong and safe to use. And then add a bit of magic and then this is what you get. A new material recycled from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And if you carefully look at the material, you can actually see that it doesn't look like normal plastic. And the fact that it's been out there for such a long time, we thought, well, surely that's going to change the material. And we wanted to embrace that look. So with a bit of tweaking, I think we've really been able to capture the feeling of the ocean in this material. So you can kind of see these waste patterns in this material, which I hope will really be a bit of a reminder of where this plastic comes from. And then we handed over this material to those partners who then made something out of it that I think is just really, really cool. So let's have a look. All right. So I'm pretty amazed to say that so far we've had almost 10,000 people pre-register for this first product. And I wish we could have all of you here tonight, but of course this time it's a bit different due to COVID. But fortunately, I think we found a way to have at least some of you early supporters with us here tonight. So hello everyone. Hi, and thank you all for your support and for your trust in us actually making something really cool. And there's actually a few more people that would like to say thank you on behalf of the ocean, and it's the Ocean Cleanup Team. So all of you should have received one of these boxes at home, and that seems to have worked. So if you then just go ahead and open this box, which is completely made out of recycled cardboard of course, then what you'll see here is this black tube. Now this is the case, and in case you haven't recognized it yet, we designed the case to actually look like a piece of our first cleanup system of Wilson. Let me tell you, it actually doesn't just look like a piece of Wilson, it actually is a piece of Wilson. This case is made of recycled material which used to be our first cleanup system. We've given Wilson a second life. But of course the big question is, well, what's inside? So if you'll go ahead and open it up, let's have a look. Wonderful. So these are the Ocean Cleanup sunglasses made from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, with 100% of the proceeds going to the continuation of the cleanup. Now the reason we're starting with sunglasses is because it's something that's both durable and useful. And as we're of course fully dependent on word of mouth to spread our mission, we also hope that by making something you can carry around, that this will also help with spreading this awareness. And let me start by saying that these are actually just really good sunglasses. I think the recycling team really went to great lengths to ensure that there would be no compromise between quality and sustainability. So they're designed in California by renowned designer Yves Behar, you see here behind me, and they're made in Italy by Sapphilo, one of the leading companies in the eyewear industry. So they feature everything you would expect from great sunglasses. So, you know, polarized lenses, full UV protection, and they just have a really premium feel to them. But most importantly, these sunglasses are truly made with plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And that's actually something we can guarantee. Because I find it amazing to think that, you know, really only a year ago, this was still harmful trash in the middle of the ocean, and now it's something beautiful. But, you know, I hear you thinking, you know, if I take my pair of sunglasses out and show to my friends, how is anyone going to believe that this actually came from the ocean? And I know it is hard to believe. So to help with this, we came up with the following. Now firstly, this is actually the first time a product has been independently certified to have been made from plastic that has been pulled out of the ocean. And I think this is important because there's actually a lot of claims going around from businesses that say they make things using ocean plastic, but for which there's actually no real evidence to back that up. So we're happy to see that DMVGL, one of the leading certification agencies in the world, is working on bringing more transparency to the market. So when you see this logo, you know it's been really made from plastic that floated in the oceans, and we're actually the first ones allowed to use it. And next to this, when you have your sunglasses, what you can do is you can actually just take out your phone, and then what you see here is on the inside of your pair, you see a tiny QR code. And then when you scan the QR code, that actually brings you to a custom page which is linked to your pair of sunglasses. And then if you go in here, you can actually see, you can read about the impact that your sunglasses are having, and can actually see footage of your plastic that is in your pair of sunglasses being taken out of the ocean. So it's, I think, pretty cool. And now let's talk about that impact, because the only reason why we're doing this is to have the greatest possible impact on the ocean. That's why we're a non-profit, meaning that 100% of the proceeds go to the continuation of the cleanup. So what impact can we have with that? Well, we did the math, and to give some perspective, we calculate that the proceeds of one pair of sunglasses equates to 24 football fields worth of Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 24. And don't forget, it doesn't stop there, because of course, this donation will be used to clean more plastic from the ocean, which in turn creates more durable products. Those proceeds will then be used to clean an even bigger area of the ocean, etc., etc. I think you get the idea. With your help, we could set off a chain reaction that, in just a few steps, could have a major impact on funding the cleanup. And that's how we want to close this circle. Now, you may rightfully ask, how do you prevent this from ending up back in the ocean? Because of course, that would be a very circular thing, just keep cleaning up the same piece of plastic. But of course, that's not the kind of circle we're after here. So, really important, and I really believe that this is our responsibility to prevent this. So, what we try to do is to actually design the product in a way that the chances of this happening are really as small as possible. And I think it's important to understand that the main reason why plastic ends up in the ocean is because it doesn't have any value. And that's precisely why we chose to make something valuable, you know, something that you don't want to lose. And it's also why we designed sunglasses to last, so that they stay valuable, keeping them out of the oceans. And if they do eventually reach the end of life, now the sunglasses are designed to be taken apart easily, so that they can simply be recycled completely. And if all else fails, you can just get in touch with us, so that we can help to ensure that it gets properly recycled. But there is more. And I must admit, we went a tiny bit overboard with this, but again, I think this is really important. So, because of course, we really thought this through and we thought, well, a possible way of losing sunglasses is that they accidentally fall off your head. So, what we then did was we made the temples adjustable, so that you can actually ensure that they snugly fit on any head, minimizing the chances of you losing them. And if you accidentally do forget them somewhere, you might be lucky enough that somebody scans your QR codes and gets in touch with us through the lost and found feature, allowing us to reunite you with your sunglasses. You know, it's going to be really hard to get rid of these sunglasses. So, what we tried to do here is to really set an example of how plastic can be used in a responsible way. Now, plastic is a good material. We just need to use it wisely. And that's what these sunglasses are all about. So, there you have it. The first product made from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, with 100% of the proceeds going to the continuation of the cleanup. And it's available now through our website for $199. And I must stress that, of course, we only have a limited amount of plastic at this moment, so this will really only be the beginning. But even so, if we do get this done, together, we could clean half a million football fields worth of ocean and actually already fund the cleanup operation of the coming year. That's the goal. So, I'd like to welcome you all to go to our website right now, theoceancleanup.com, and join us in closing the circle to turn the pollution of yesterday into the cleanup of tomorrow. So, thank you all for joining, and have a great evening, everyone.