Plastic ocean pollution has reached crisis levels: more than 170 trillion plastic pieces are gravely threatening the planet’s marine ecosystem. Now, groundbreaking research unveils how artificial intelligence can become a game-changer in the fight against this ecological disaster. A new study published in the highly esteemed scientific journal “Operations Research” by INFORMS, entitled “Optimising the Path Towards Plastic-Free Oceans”, concluded that the use of AI-based algorithms could increase the efficiency of ocean cleanup operations by more than 60 per cent.
The research, between 2022 and 2024, developed a non-linear optimisation algorithm that finds plastic waste collection ship optimal routes in real-time. With the program, vessels can collect more plastic in less time, something already on the go because of a partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, an international environmental leader.
More plastic collected at a lower cost
Dick den Hertog, professor at the University of Amsterdam and co-author of the study, explains how this solution represents a great qualitative leap in relation to traditional methods: “Thanks to complex analysis and real time path optimisation, we can optimise each collection operation, making cleaning much more efficient.”. The importance of this solution is self-evident: not only does it allow much larger quantities of plastic waste to be eliminated without increasing expense, but it is a viable and practical solution to an acute environmental problem. Jean Pauphilet of the London Business School points out how this research shows that “artificial intelligence and operations research are not only applicable to finance and technology, but can solve real environmental problems”.
The Ocean Cleanup is a Dutch NGO that focuses on cleaning oceans with plastic. Apart from river interception operations, it has also established a technology to collect plastic garbage in the oceans. It has been piloting solutions in the GPGP since 2018 and operating its most recent system since 2021. The system is a large (600-meter-wide and 4-meter-deep at the beginning of our partnership) U-shaped screen, gradually being towed by two boats, that can pick up floating plastics without picking up any sea life. In this study, we consider the potential for increasing the efficacy of the plastic collection system by optimising its path in the GPGP. To that end, we apply data and models of weather forecasts and plastic weight in the GPGP in order to create an optimisation-driven routing algorithm for collecting more plastic directly and fast-tracking the path towards cleaner, healthier oceans.
Following the agenda
A tangible support towards the achievement of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
Currently, Ocean Cleanup uses this technology in its activities in the Pacific, and the outcome is tangible and contributes towards the achievement of the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goal No. 14, which focuses on the conservation of marine life. In addition, Bruno Sainte-Rose, Innovation Lead at The Ocean Cleanup, also confirms that “AI-based optimisation is a real game changer, enabling more impactful and cost-effective environmental interventions”.
This technology, already piloted and in use, may be applied to other large-scale environmental disasters in the future, ranging from river cleanups to environmental crises brought about by natural disasters. Unattended, the rate of plastic invasion into water sources will increase 2.6 times by 2040. Artificial intelligence cleanup of oceans is a new approach to environmental intervention, a demonstration of the potential of the latest technologies to make existing efforts more efficient without involving massive infrastructure costs. A concrete step towards protecting the world and the ocean’s future.
As per a study published in 2023 in the scientific journal “PLOS One”, current surface pollution has been estimated at between 82 and 358 trillion pieces of plastic (mean 171 trillion pieces, which are mostly microplastics) weighing 1.1 to 4.9 million (mean 2.3 million) tonnes. Unless major policy changes at the global level take place, according to the article, the ratio of plastic ingress into water systems will increase by about 2.6 times by 2040 (compared to 2016).
