“We’re taking back our rivers”: How one inventor’s plan could clean oceans and change lives

Kochi: Dutch inventor Boyan Slat says the world’s ocean plastic crisis could be dramatically reduced within the next 15 years, and for less than $1 billion.

Slat’s nonprofit, The Ocean Cleanup, is already deploying technology designed to stop waste before it reaches the sea. The approach focuses on rivers, where much of the world’s ocean plastic originates.

The system uses floating barriers to trap debris as it flows downstream. Autonomous ‘interceptor’ boats equipped with conveyor belts then collect the waste and send it for recycling or disposal.

Interceptors are already operating in rivers across Indonesia, India, Colombia, the Philippines and the Caribbean.

According to Slat, targeting just 30 cities could prevent around a third of the plastic currently entering the oceans.

If scaled, the plan would tackle the problem at its source, keeping rivers and coastlines cleaner while cutting long-term cleanup costs at sea.