Science

The Ocean Cleanup Now Offers More River Interceptors

The nonprofit cleanup crew shows off its newest river tools, the Interceptor Barrier and the Interceptor Tender. The Ocean Cleanup's CEO talks to CNET about plans for 2022 and beyond.

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Stephen Beacham

Feb. 23, 2022 5:00 a.m. PT

The Ocean Cleanup is expanding its portfolio of ocean- and river-cleaning technology with two new solutions designed to scoop garbage from the planet's waters.

medium-211126-barnes-barrier-inspections-1280x720 — The Ocean Cleanup

The Netherlands-based nonprofit published videos of its Interceptor Barrier and Interceptor Tender in action at the Barnes Gully in Kingston, Jamaica. The inlet will be the testing ground for these new tools.

The Interceptor Barrier is a simple barrier made out of reclaimed plastic that can stretch across a larger variety of rivers, streams and gullies to block floating garbage before it can enter the ocean.

The Interceptor Tender is a smaller crewed boat designed to tend to the Interceptor Barriers and empty out the waste they collect using a large conveyor belt. More agile than the larger Interceptors, it can enter shallow waters that were unreachable before.

I spoke with The Ocean Cleanup's CEO Boyan Slat over Zoom to discuss these new tools and get an update on the current campaign to clean up The Great Pacific Garbage Patch with their ocean cleanup System 002. Watch the video above for more details.