--- title: "Plastic Part Breaks Off Device Intended to Capture Ocean Plastic" description: "A plastic part broke off the Ocean Cleanup Project's device, which was intended to capture ocean plastic. But the project's CEO remains undeterred." date: "2019-01-05" modified: "2019-01-05" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ocean-cleanup-broken-plastic" categories: - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "boyan slat" - "environment" - "ocean cleanup project" - "the digest" --- # Plastic Part Breaks Off Device Intended to Capture Ocean Plastic ![A plastic part broke off the Ocean Cleanup Project's device, which was intended to capture ocean plastic. But the project's CEO remains undeterred.]() *\Image: Ocean Cleanup\* ## The Plastics In Sept. 2018, a nonprofit called the Ocean Cleanup Project deployed a 600-meter-long (2,000-foot-long) device [designed to capture]() plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean. Now the device is [reportedly falling apart]() — and Ocean Cleanup is dragging it back to Hawaii to assess the damage. Depending on its condition, the nonprofit may then [bring it back to San Francisco]() on a barge. ## Mission Creep This isn't the first sign of trouble for Ocean Cleanup. When it prepped to launch, [experts questioned]() whether it could withstand harsh conditions at sea. Three months later, it emerged that the giant device was [failing to catch plastic](). "This is all part of developing pioneering technology in very challenging conditions," 24-year-old Ocean Cleanup CEO Boyan Slat [told *USA Today*]() of the project's latest woes. ## Old Irony Sides Ocean Cleanup became aware of the damage to its device on Dec. 29, according to *USA Today,* when crew noticed that a pipe had broken free and recaptured it. The pipe, as it turns out, was made of high-density polyethylene — the [world's most popular plastic](). **READ MORE:** [Ocean Cleanup Device Breaks Down, Well Before Ridding Pacific of Plastics]() \[*NBC*\] ***More on the Ocean Cleanup Project:*** [Creator of Ocean Cleanup Barrier Undeterred by Initial Issues]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()