Twice bigger than Texas, heavy as 500 blue whales and in continuous expansion: we are talking about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), the gigantic plastic island floating between California and Hawaii. A monster from Over 80,000 tons of wastegrown in the silence of the oceans to become one of the most urgent and expensive environmental problems of our time.
2.5 trillions of dollars a year: This is the estimated global cost of plastic pollution in the seas, according to the most recent studies. A weight that weighs not only on the environment, but also on the economy, fishing, tourism and health of coastal communities.
But maybe something is changing. During his recent intervention at Ted 2025 by Vancouver, Boyan Slat – The founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup – was optimistic:
We can completely eliminate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And we can do it in just five years if we want.
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A statement that until a few years ago would seem pure science fiction. And instead, today, it is supported by data, real tests in the open sea and accurate modeling. The current operations of the Dutch organization show that, continuing with the current rhythm, the cleaning of the patch would require about 10 years and 7.5 billion dollars. But if you adopt a more ambitious approach, time could halve and the cost descend to 4 billion.
In other words: the more you invest, the more the problem is solved quickly.
How does the system work?
The devices developed by The Ocean Cleanup are U -shaped floating barriers, capable of capturing plastic on the surface by exploiting ocean currents. All without damaging the marine faunaa central aspect of the project. Once collected, the waste is brought to the ground and transformed into everyday objects – a concrete example of circular economy.
Slat, however, was clear:
Removing plastic is fundamental, but that’s not enough. If we really want to win this battle, we must Close the tap upstream. For this, parallel to the cleaning of the ocean, The Ocean Cleanup is working on projects to intercept plastic in More polluting rivers of the worldbefore it reaches the sea.
We can leave this problem to future generations … or we can solve it.
The challenge is open. There is technology. The will as well. Only one thing is missing: the collective investmentthat of governments, companies and citizens. Because we all pay the plastic account in the oceans every day. But the future clean, for once, really seems within our reach.
Has the time comes to push governments to invest in this mission or do we still prefer to turn our gaze on the other side?
