In 2016, the ‘longest floating structure in history’ known as the ‘ocean cleanup’ will be placed in the ocean, off the coast of Japan. The ‘Ocean Cleanup’ was founded by 20 year old founder and CEO Boyan Slat. Currently deployment is being explored to take place off the coast of Tsushima, an island located in the waters between Japan and South-Korea. The ‘ocean cleanup’ will span at 2000 meters, which beats the previous world record of 1000 meters for the Tokyo Mega-Float. It will be floating for 2 years, removing plastic pollution from the waters. Japan has a huge plastic pollution crisis, with one cubic meter of pollution per person washing up on shores every year. This will be the first clean up project of what is hoped to be many more to come. The ‘Ocean Cleanup’ website describes its mission as follows: “The Ocean Cleanup’s goal is to fuel the world’s fight against oceanic plastic pollution by initiating the largest cleanup in history”. Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup said: “Taking care of the world’s ocean garbage problem is one of the largest environmental challenges mankind faces today. Not only will this first cleanup array contribute to cleaner waters and coasts but it simultaneously is an essential step towards our goal of cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This deployment will enable us to study the system’s efficiency and durability over time.” MORE