On Saturday 2 June 2018, Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, received the 44th International Leonardo Da Vinci Prize. This prize is an initiative of 11 European Rotary clubs and is intended for a young, promising person who is active in one of the many work areas of Leonardo da Vinci. Slat received this prize of €12,000 for the inspiring work he is doing with The Ocean Cleanup where his aim is to get the oceans free from plastic. Slat receiving this this prize was the reason for 15 Amsterdam Clubs to start our current “End Plastic Soup” campaign.
In an article in the Business Insider is explained how Slat started at the age of 16 with an idea to clean up the plastic soup. From that moment he works continuously on the system that must realize this ambition. The article gives a nice overview of Slat’s system, which in summary is a half-ring of large plastic tubes with safety nets hanging underneath which catch the waste that is brought in by the currents of the sea.
We are curious about his future developments!
