The largest cleanup in history

We develop and scale technologies to rid the oceans of plastic

Our cleaning technologies are deployed around the world as we conduct the largest cleanup in history. For over ten years, The Ocean Cleanup has been researching, extracting, and monitoring plastic pollution in oceans and rivers globally – with millions of kilograms removed to date.

A planet-sized problem

Trillions of pieces of plastic pollute our oceans today, and the problem is worsening. This plastic has a devastating impact on marine wildlife and ecosystems. Plastics can persist for many decades, continuously degrading into microplastics. These can be ingested by wildlife and later enter the human food chain. Plastic pollution is a global crisis requiring urgent action.

We aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution by 2040

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. To achieve this objective, we use a dual strategy: intercepting plastic in rivers to cut the inflow of pollution, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean and won’t go away by itself. When the oceans are clean, we can put ourselves out of business.

The latest news

Join the cleanup

Our aim is to remove 90 % of floating ocean plastic by 2040. With your help we can work towards a future where plastic no longer pollutes our oceans.

The Ocean Cleanup is a bold idea to confront the significant challenge of restoring our ocean ecosystem. This is a unique opportunity to profoundly impact our environment, pursuing an ambitious solution to remove plastic waste from our oceans with significant benefits for wildlife, the food chain and community health.

Mary Reemst, Chair, Macquarie Group Foundation

Partners

Thanks to our partners we can clean the oceans.