The Ocean Cleanup states that it can make the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) go away within five years to the tune of $4 billion. During a brief stop-over in San Francisco late last week, founder and CEO Boyan Slat plus key members of the team met with press, sponsors and fans, while their two 73.2 meter System 03 vessels attracted attention at the Pier 15 dock aside The Exploratorium.

The Ocean Cleanup Sets Cost and Timeline

Friday’s reveal of $4 billion and five years is the first time both a total cost and a timeline have been shared for eliminating a growing environmental hazard–the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP).

During the past three years, The Ocean Cleanup has removed more than one million pounds of trash from the GPGP, or 0.5% of the region’s total accumulated debris. Slat states the company’s present technology and method for locating and removing debris could continue, but their analysis yields elimination in 10 years and at a cost of $7.5 billion.

He’s stumping for funds to achieve a far more ambitious plan—one which works with data and computer modeling, and predicts that operations could eliminate our plastic problem at a cost of $4 billion. In a live broadcast Slat called upon the world, governments, corporations, individuals and foundations to prioritize efforts to clean the marine environment.

In 2025, The Ocean Cleanup will take a one-year operational hiatus in order to deploy a new hotspot hunting initiative designed to map hot zones, or areas of intense plastic accumulation, in the GPGP. This will make removal efforts more fruitful.

It’s been the intent of the team to revisit San Francisco; six years ago, System 01 headed east under the Golden Gate Bridge with a mission to start removing the massive collection of discarded plastic which clogs our ocean, starting in the Pacific Ocean.

Plastic pollution is one of the most urgent problems the ocean faces today, costing the world up to $2.5 trillion per year in damage to economies, industries and the environment.

Ocean Voyages Institute in Sausalito also removing significant amounts of plastic from the Pacific Ocean.

View The Ocean Cleanup Livestream

Boyan Slat from the San Francisco Exploratorium, aside San Franciso Bay: