[mbjdesign]

I think a lot of the criticism this article levels at The Ocean Cleanup's efforts is pretty unfair.

Whilst it might take 10 Jenny's (20 ships) 5 years to clean up 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, that's significantly less plastic in the sea than if they sat on the sidelines because what they've got isn't perfect. 20 small ships traveling incredibly slowly is nothing compared to the tankers and freighters delivering all the cheap plastic crap in the first place.

Similarly, mentioning that their efforts are negligible compared to the plastics still being dumped into the sea whilst also pointing out that removing it from the sea is more costly than preventing it in the first instance actually undermines the snarky "why bother" tone they've taken.

Yes, preventing plastic from entering the sea, and reducing the amount of plastic created in the first place is something we should (and are?) trying to accomplish world-wide as that's where the biggest payoff lies, but it still leaves plastic in the sea that needs removing: something these guys have taken a good crack at solving and done better than anyone else as far as I know.

Whole article reeks of a defeatist — "it's hopeless, why bother?" — attitude. I'm pleased to see progress, however small.

[thrthrthr]

The article also fails to mention that they're also developing a passive device specifically to plop in rivers and collect trash before it ever reaches the ocean.[1] The Ocean Cleanup has also specifically addressed the "why bother with what's already there?" question in a blog post they published a while ago.[2] Disappointing that the article didn't even bother to mention either of these.

[1] https://theoceancleanup.com/rivers/ [2] https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/why-we-must-clean-the-oc...

[nobodyandproud]

I’m glad you mentioned this, as this was a low-hanging fruit that was proposed not too long ago.

Most countries seem pretty open to this solution as another measure to reduce garbage, as they don’t have a reliable way of enforcing garbage prevention.

Also, I don’t like the defeatist snark of the article either.