Boyan Slat Reflects on What It Takes to Rid the Oceans of Plastic | Podcast Clip

From perseverance to partnerships, Boyan explains the vital ingredients for a successful launch and celebrates the 1m kilograms of trash already intercepted.

Boyan tells us more on a range of topics, from the importance of the negotiations for a Global Plastic Treaty to our plans for improving efficiency in our GPGP cleanup. He also speaks of his personal growth during the last year, how he handles the responsibilities that come with success, and gives his hot take on one of 1995's biggest movies.

And follow The Ocean Cleanup on:

[SwirlingSoul]

I hope this guys someday wins a Nobel prize. The whole team deserves one.

[tubehound]

Thank you Ocean Cleanup for never giving up. Stay safe

[SergioGarcia-vutg]

Big thank you from spain to all who are involved in this beautiful project .

[CitiesForTheFuture]

10 gold stars to everyone involved in this project, most of all for not getting despondent & giving up. This is a MASSIVE undertaking across many different countries & circumstances (no one size fits all tech). I hope the latest UN plastics initiative will - eventually - make your job a lot easier. Unfortunately the real victims of plastic pollution - the ocean ecosystem & marine biodiversity - does not hand out prizes or can thank you for your kindness, dedication, perseverance, hard work, and years of effort perfecting this technology. Hopefully, one day, this incredible project will receive the recognition it deserves. For now nature thanks you and so do I.

[MoritzFischer]

Boyan Slat is a real hero. He and his entire team are amazing. I follow them since day one and they just getting strong and stronger. So awesome and so ingenious. Thank you!

[aoae-hfrz]

you guys are a God send, and never giving up is how we will succeed. We needed this technology it is an absolute necessity in these times.

the issue with litter is that we as humans still possess the primal habit of consuming and discarding the leftovers, once upon a time this would have all been natural materials of the fruit and plants we consumed, and spreading their seeds or returning it to the land to biodegrade. A natural reflex that had a symbiotic purpose, and we were not even consciously aware of participating to the health of the eco system by spreading materials as we did.
Now, that same unconscious reflex and subsequent natural dynamic between man and environment has been completely hijacked to generate toxic waste product build up at the same rate we consume.

If we accept that human beings have a nature and role as "droppers and spreaders", then it is vital we commandeer that consciously. If you have s sprinkler system for the garden you dont fill it with bleach, humans are like garden sprinklers and what they are filled with makes a massive difference.

we have to look at this LUCIDLY.

humans are also making concerted conscious and strictly organised efforts to extract materials, AND EXTRACTING OUR UNCONSCIOUSLY DISCARDED WASTE SHOULD BE THE GREATEST EFFORT WE ARE MAKING. We can make the clean up the largest extraction effort on the planet, we can put a massive cap on oil and other extraction so we can also change the materials we use in the first place, and scale down trade. If we are consuming products with biodegradeable wrappers we are aligning with primal impulses. We can do our beat to encourage people to not litter BUT TO BE COMPLETELY REALISTIC IT IS A REFLEX THAT CAN BE EXPECTED UNTIL IT IS LEARNED OUT OF, AND PEOPLE DONT ALWAYS CARE TO CHANGE, AND WE CANT FORCE IT. WE JUST HAVE TO PERSEVERE AS THE CHANGERS, TO ALLEVIATE THE STRAIN.

[parkersnowe]

Young people with dreams that come true help all of us in ways we may not even be aware of! Thanks!

[dianamariewells]

Blessings eternal
Gratitude beyond words 🙏❤️

[cynthia_g_]

This company and project is a bright flash of hope in our sometimes murky world. Thank you for your work, and for sharing the details so clearly.

[luckosteve]

The Ocean Cleanup project represents hope for the future. You are making a difference. Thank you all for your perseverance and determination.

[ian]

The last sentence hit my heart like searing knife. No truer word ever spoken. Never give up. ❤❤

[ingridwatsup]

It makes me so sad to see this amount of plastic, but at the same time it makes me glad that The Ocean Cleanup exists and does such a fantastic job. THANK YOU BOYAN, Team and sponsors!

[Lucyverre]

You can be so proud. Thank you Boyan 💙🔵

[mariolimpia]

Thank you Ocean Cleanup, our country, Honduras is one of the most rewarded by this project🎉

[philardern]

You sir are an amazing man and a true hero of the people.

[Peanut_Gallery_]

This is insane!! I can't believe this is everyday and not even the rainy season. Absolutely impressive

[gasser]

Boyan and everyone who makes this entire dream possible are absolutely amazing humans.

[Sparky]

I really like the fact he admits when things go wrong unlike others like him and address what he's doing to correct it and he is passionate about the things he's doing

[dajobra]

Design it, build it, brake it and repeat. Big mistakes lead to big improvements, so please keep making them. Never give up!

[altes_Wissen_neu_verbreitet]

Big thank you from germany to all who are involved in this beautiful project .