How Much Would it Cost to Clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

The Ocean Cleanup recently declared the eradication of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) achievable within a decade and an ambition to make the cleanup happen faster and more cost effectively. The announcement is the first time both a cost and a timeline has been placed on ridding the Pacific Ocean of the environmental hazard presented by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Cleanup Technology Validated and Ready for Scale-up

Six years after sailing out of San Francisco with the ambition of developing the technology to rid the world's oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup returned to San Francisco with the knowledge and know-how to relegate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the history books.

Arriving in San Francisco with System 03, the technology created by The Ocean Cleanup to extract plastic from ocean gyres, the organization showcased the results of their most recent extraction operations in the GPGP.  Over the past three years, The Ocean Cleanup has removed more than one million pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or 0.5 percent of the total accumulated trash.  

The data and modeling of these and future operations conclusively proves that the problem is solvable within a decade and could be done in 5 years at a cost of $4 billion. 

Time for Action 

The Ocean Cleanup calls upon the world, governments, corporations, individuals, and foundations to prioritize the resolution of this important marine environment and ensure that the cleaning of the ocean becomes a global priority.

In 2025 The Ocean Cleanup will take a one-year operational hiatus to deploy a new hotspot hunting initiative designed to map the "hotspots", or areas of intense plastic accumulation in the GPGP, making extractions more impactful. 

Commenting on the announcement, Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup said: "Today's announcement is clear, clean oceans can be achieved in a manageable time and for a clear cost. Through the hard work of the past 10 years, humanity has the tools needed to clean up the ocean.  We have shown the world that the impossible is now possible.  The only missing thing is who will ensure this job gets done. We call upon the world to relegate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the history books. This environmental catastrophe has been allowed to exist, unresolved, for too long and for the first time we can tell the world what it costs, what is needed and how long it could take.  It is time for action."