Design Process

The problem of plastic pollution is multifaceted and cannot be addressed holistically. Both active and preventative measures must be taken and legislation must be passed to fully address the issue. Our design is meant to actively tackle the current plastic pollution located in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Our design is made to be long term, reusable, and energy efficient.

The design uses a boat with net attachments to collect plastic pollution. Here are some of our concept design sketches:

Below is the main body of the prototype we used to test our design.

Our net loop design, pictured below, is optimized to effectively scoop plastic litter from the ocean’s surface.

The connector bar below is used to attach the net loops to the boat.

Here is an expanded assembly view of our net loops and bar.