It is hard to catch plastic waste at sea. If you will do it in large scale, the equipment needed is costly and requires large vessels which consumes much carbon-based energy, a number of crew and so on and so forth.
If you focus on ports, channels, rivers and areas near coast, the scope will be smaller. However, the impact of small scale plastic catch has a number of advantages:
- Low operational costs
- Affordable equipment
- Easy to assess when action is needed
- Local employment
- Utilizing small boats when not in use
- High attention on shore – increase awareness of the problem
All this is what the Clear Ocean concept offers.
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Where
The trawl we develop is suitable for
- PORTS – higher density of plastic waste are floating in a rather concentrated area.
- CHANNELS – in urban surrounding one often finds considerable amounts of waste here.
- RIVERS – some 80 per cent of the plastic waste at sea are brought here by the rivers.
- OPEN SEA – wind, tide and local conditions may create temporary “islands” of waste.
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The concept
The trawl consists of durable and for the most standard components. We use A4 quality nuts and bolts. The critical corner pieces are made in stainless steel. The net is made of recycled nets from the fisheries.
The trawl is easy to put together. You will find instruction enclosed the parts and package, and an instruction video will be available on YouTube.
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Operation
The trawl can be operated by one person. However, two persons are ideal. The trawl is put into the sea from a low position; possibly a floating jetty. Even a tiny boat can be used to pull the trawl. The trawl works best at a speed on 2-3 knots. The length of the rope between depends on the boat, waves and tide, the density of waste in the sea.
When the trawl gets suitable full, you go to the base, opens the net at the rear side and remove the catch.
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