At the age of 16, while he was bathing in Greece, young Dutch Boyan Slat sadly noticed that there was more plastic than fish in the sea. From that moment on, the teenager decided to create a waste collecting system, which he first pictured as a giant rake. After some research, he thought of combining floating pipes and immerged three-meter wide panels that would use the wind and streams to bring plastic waste into this funnel-shaped assembly.

The project is almost achieved
Boyan Slat is now 19 and has never been closer to realizing his project. A feasibility study about his concept has been carried out and states that it would be completely feasible. Even better, a 100 km floating barrier could catch 50% of plastic waste that pollutes the Pacific ocean, that is no less than 70 million kilos. After passing the feasibility test with flying colors, Boyan Slat is now determined to raise the funds he needs to realize his project. He would like to gather 2 million dollars in 100 days to build an operational pilot platform within three or four years, with the help of his foundation The Ocean Cleanup, launched in 2013.

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