Describe the critical need your solution addresses.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists of over 9 million km2 of plastic waste that is killing millions of animals yearly. Located in international waters, this is currently everybody’s problem, but nobody’s responsibility. The Plastic Island Project addresses the need to keep our waters clean and protect our wildlife.

Explain your initiative in more depth and its stage of development.

The Garbage Patch is increasing at a fast pace; its surface doubled from 1999 to 2004. However, the issue is relatively unknown by the public. This project therefore works on two fronts: raising awareness of the problem on one hand and developing a solution on the other. A realistic concept of Plastic Island has already been created by a team of specialists in related fields.
As the vastness of the Garbage Patch rules out chasing down the debris; a single-spot approach is chosen instead. Wind, water and waste streams are relatively constant factors in the oceans and bring the waste TO the Island Its three-point starshape consists of plastic pontoons. Membranes of 80 km long and 100 meter deep used to capture the debris are attached to the ends of the three tips. The location of the Island will be stationary. Ships or kites pulling the membranes will provide the slow rotation of the Island necessary to collect the waste, but giving marine life a chance to escape. The collected plastic will be recycled into usable products on the Island itself. The surface of the island is used for various purposes to make living on the Island possible and comfortable.

How does your strategy and approach respond creatively and comprehensively to key issues?

The concept of Plastic Island is revolutionary on three fronts: the global approach of its conception; its approach on waste-collecting without chasing it; and the 100% self-supporting concept.
Being self-supporting means that besides collecting and recycling plastic, other necessary functions need to be included on the Island as well. These functions range from cultivating food to providing energy, housing and medical facilities. Plastic Island succeeds in combining these functions creatively and comprehensively. The Island itself is designed to save both space and resources. The use of eco-friendly technologies ensures the ecological footprint is kept as low as possible. Sustainable energy will be generated through solar panels and wind turbines.
According to our calculations, the project will create around 800 jobs. International cooperation is not only necessary to realize the project, once ready it will allow people from across the world to come to the island and live and work together. The living quarters for the workforce simultaneously serve as lifeboats. During normal Island operation, the lifeboats are private quarters where people can eat, sleep and relax. However, in case of an emergency, these boats can be released to open water.
Because of its seaborne location, Plastic Island is an ideal base for marine life research. An on-site science centre will not only conduct research, but also provide information that can be used worldwide for education on marine life, sustainable energy, recycling processes etc.
On an economic level the Island is also self-supporting; rising oil prices will directly increase plastic prices. The plastic waste is recycled into granulites, which in turn can be used to manufacture useful products. These products can be sold, thus paying for the Islands running costs.