The world’s first ocean cleanup is set to be deploying in 2016. The problem that triggered the cleanup is the simple fact that the world’s oceans are heavily polluted by garbage, mostly plastic. The system spans over one mile, making the system the biggest ocean cleanup in history. The goal of the project is to cleanup The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is one of the most heavily polluted oceans in the world. 

Boyan Slat, the 21 year old who have initiated the ocean cleanup, discovered the immense amount of garbage when diving in Greece at the age of 16. After seeing this, he asked himself the game changing yet simple question: Why can’t we clean this up?

His teenage years revolved around the ocean cleanup project. Being turned down by over 300 companies, Boyan still kept at it, motivated by his strong determination and belief that he would make this work. 

It was not until he turned 18 when he really got wind in his sails. Boyan did a TedX talk: How the Oceans can Clean Themselves. The response to the presentation was immense and the video went viral shortly after being published. 

The young entrepreneur from Holland has been recognized as one of the most promising young entrepreneurs worldwide by Intel EYE50. Also, being crowned the 2014 champion of the earth, the highest environmental accolade given by the UN. With this in mind, it’s safe to say that Boyan Slat has a bright future, and is making huge steps towards a cleaner and healthier environment. 

Read more about the largest Ocean Cleanup in history here: http://www.theoceancleanup.com