Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup

I covered the press conference of Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup and the visit to the vessels they use to collect plastic garbage from the ocean. The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit dedicated to developing scalable technologies to remove plastic from the world’s oceans.
Six years after setting sail from San Francisco to tackle ocean plastic pollution, the organization has returned with invaluable expertise and technological advancements. Slat announced a bold achievement: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) could be eradicated within ten years, with an estimated cost of US$7.5 billion.
Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a team of around 140 people and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The two support vessels from The Ocean Cleanup docked in San Francisco on September 6, 2024, marking the organization\'s return after six years of groundbreaking work to develop technologies to eliminate ocean plastic pollution. The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit dedicated to developing scalable technologies to remove plastic from the world\'s oceans. It was founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, employs a team of around 140 people, and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The command center of one of the support vessels docked in San Francisco, CA, on September 6, 2024.
The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Boyan Slat in 2013, is an international non-profit focused on developing scalable technologies to remove plastic from the world’s oceans. The organization employs around 140 people and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Large bags filled with collected plastic debris are stored on the deck of The Ocean Cleanup's support vessel in San Francisco, CA, on September 6, 2024.
The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Boyan Slat in 2013, is an international non-profit focused on developing scalable technologies to remove plastic from the world’s oceans. The organization employs around 140 people and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Compactors on the deck of The Ocean Cleanup's support vessel in San Francisco, CA, on September 6, 2024.
The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Boyan Slat in 2013, is an international non-profit focused on developing scalable technologies to remove plastic from the world’s oceans. The organization employs around 140 people and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Plastic debris collected from the ocean are piled on the deck of The Ocean Cleanup's support vessel docked in San Francisco, CA, on September 6, 2024. This haul is part of the organization's ongoing mission to rid the world's oceans of plastic waste through innovative, large-scale cleanup technologies.
The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Boyan Slat in 2013, is an international non-profit focused on developing scalable technologies to remove plastic from the world’s oceans. The organization employs around 140 people and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The large net used to capture ocean plastic is seen on the deck of one of the support vessels docked in San Francisco, CA, on September 6, 2024.
The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Boyan Slat in 2013, is an international non-profit focused on developing scalable technologies to remove plastic from the world’s oceans. The organization employs around 140 people and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.