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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014

This Floating Platform Could Filter the Plastic from our Polluted Oceans

Author:     VANESSA QUIRK
Source:     Arch Daily
Publication Date:     16-Jul-14
 Link: This Floating Platform Could Filter the Plastic from our Polluted Oceans
Stephan:   Here is an example of what environmental remediation might look like. Instead of pouring tens of billions into useless fighters like the F-35, this is what we should be building. The ubiquitous presence of plastic particles in the ocean has become a tremendous problem with dire long term effects. To quote the report, "Today there are six mega-vortexes of floating plastic: five between the continents and a sixth close to the Arctic, which is similar in size to Brazil (8.5 million square kilometers) and is 10 meters thick. It is in this environment that Halobates - a wild insect that feeds on zooplankton - thrives. The insect has experienced such exponential growth, in fact, that it's endangering the zooplankton, essentially eliminating the base of the oceanic food chain." Click through to see the illustrations which will make this story much more comprehensible.

Plastic is an extremely durable material, taking 500 years to biodegrade, yet it’s designed to be used for an average of 5 minutes, and so it’s thrown away. Few know where this mass of junk will end up … in the oceans, killing and silently destroying everything, even us.”

Cristian Ehrmantraut has developed a prototype for a floating platform that filters the ocean and absorbs plastic. Located 4 km from the coast of Easter Island, close to the center of the mega-vortex of plastic located in the South Pacific, the tetrahedral platform performs a kind of dialysis, allowing the natural environment to be recovered as well as energy and food to be produced.

From the Architect. The idea for the project comes from a reality that, although few realize it, affects us all: the disposable culture and its principal actor – plastic

Since the 1960s, plastic has become a part of our daily lives, allowing us, among other things, to extend our lifespan. However, behind this remarkable reality lies an uncomfortable fact: plastic is an extremely durable material, taking 500 years to biodegrade, yet it’s designed to be used for an average of 5 minutes, and so it’s thrown away. Few know where […]

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