The Ocean Cleanup

The GPGP resembles a "plastic soup," with areas of higher plastic concentration (hotspots). By steering our ocean system toward the most polluted areas of the patch in real time, we can make the cleanup both faster and more cost-effective.

What's the progress on our ocean operations?
We just completed the first drone tests to help us locate plastic hotspots in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch:

YouTube video by The Ocean Cleanup How We Plan to Cut Ocean Plastic Pollution by One Third by 2030

Watch the full video about our 30 Cities Program: youtu.be/pByU4ack9No?...

We plan to cut ocean plastic pollution from rivers by up to one-third by 2030. How? By tackling the most polluted cities worldwide.

Interceptor deployments in Mumbai, India, coming up.

This is how we map waterways in a city to determine the most effective Interceptor deployment location:

Which 30 cities?

💠Panama City: first deployment to go live in the coming months.
💠Mumbai: mapping of all waterways completed; preparations for first deployments underway.

Others include Manila, Montego Bay, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more!

LATEST: The Ocean Cleanup just announced the next big step in scaling Interceptor deployments worldwide: a 30-city program to cut ocean plastic pollution from rivers by up to one-third by 2030.

Read more here: theoceancleanup.com/updates/the-...

MEDIA CALL: join @boyanslat.bsky.social - our Founder and CEO - for a press conference presenting a big update on scaling Interceptor deployments worldwide at #UNOC3.

📍Location: Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel
🗓️ Date: June 12th at 12pm CEST
RSVP: press@theoceancleanup.com

@unoceandecade.bsky.social

New study highlights environmental harm of not cleaning GPGP | Press Release | The Ocean Cleanup

You can learn more about this and read the full Net Environment Benefit Study here: theoceancleanup.com/press/press-...

Is it worth it to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

We conducted a Net Environmental Benefit Assessment to answer this question. Read our findings ⬇️

YouTube video by The Ocean Cleanup How River Plastic from Guatemala Became Coldplay’s Latest Record​

For instance, some of the PET bottles we sorted from previous catches in Guatemala were used to create a limited-edition LP in partnership with #Coldplay. Find out how we did it: youtu.be/WmtYTuMjx_A?...

The trash we find in rivers such as Las Vacas consists of lighter, softer plastics such as bottles, single-use containers, and packaging, alongside a portion of glass, metal, sand, and organics. Together with partners, we work on identifying appropriate destinations for each waste stream.

121 truckloads of trash won’t end up in the Caribbean Sea, thanks to Interceptor 006.

... and a yellow one downstream:

We intercepted another trash tsunami in Rio Las Vacas, Guatemala. 🇬🇹

Interceptor 006 consists of two barriers: a blue one upstream ( here before & after trash extraction):

Behind the scenes- currently installing a new Interceptor in Jamaica 🇯🇲

Interesting fact: our catch in Q1 of 2025 is the same as our total river catch in 2019-2022.

Interceptor catch results for the first quarter of 2025 are in, and it's looking promising. 🚀

We are looking for fishing gear experts who can help us trace the fishing technique and fleet associated with the types of nets we retrieve in the GPGP.

Can you help? Do you know someone who can?
We'd love to hear from you: theoceancleanup.com/contact/

We know the main origins of hard plastics found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), but about half of the total plastic mass in the GPGP consists of fishing nets.

Our Research team is now working to identify their origins by analyzing these nets based on their size, color, and polymer.

Shoutout to our local operators who keep Interceptor 019 (Bangkok, #Thailand) running!

Panama: implementing a city-wide approach to plastic pollution prevention | Updates | The Ocean Cleanup The Ocean Cleanup has taken another important step in its mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic with the announcement of a partnership project in Central America to stop the flow of waste into ...

The Siete Cuencas Project (the Seven Basin Project) will focus on intercepting trash and promoting a cultural change in waste management through Interceptor deployments in seven basins, #environmental education programs, and #research initiatives: theoceancleanup.com/updates/pana...

Exciting #news: new river project location - #Panama.
We have partnered with Marea Verde Panamá to tackle the waste flowing into the Bay of Panama through the capital's rivers.

#theoceancleanup

So far, we developed the tools to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and deployed 17 Interceptors across 8 countries, and our total catch counts over 22,000,000 kg of trash. But there’s still much more to be done.

We are on a mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.
We do this in two ways: by removing legacy pollution from the oceans and intercepting it in rivers. Check out our operations, and follow our progress here and on our website: theoceancleanup.com