The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which we’ve discussed before, is a gyre of floating garbage in the Northern Pacific estimated to be twice the size of Texas. Project Kaisei is a nonprofit group of scientists and ocean lovers who set up to study the North Pacific Gyre and the plastic debris that has collected in this oceanic region, to determine how to capture it and to study possible processing techniques that would allow the recycling of captured materials into diesel fuel. With funding from the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), the project launched its first research expedition, comprising two boats, which set sail on Aug. 2nd and 3rd from San Diego and San Francisco.

“We are very excited to be supporting Project Kaisei’s first research expedition to the North Pacific Gyre,” said Dominique Maguin, BIR President. “The Project Kaisei team has ambitious plans, which are fully in line with BIR’s mission to increase recycling and recyclability. Our members across the globe are providing industry with nearly 50% of the raw materials needed, and we can still increase this figure. The collection of waste can be improved and the recycling activities are indispensible for saving energy, gas emissions and natural resources. It is of paramount importance to leave a safe, clean and welcoming planet for future generations. Project Kaisei represents an innovative constructive approach to addressing a problem that would not have been there if recycling had been promoted and implemented by all nations. We believe that by collaborating together it will bring benefits to both of our organizations, as well as for the whole planet.”

“We are very fortunate to have garnered the financial support of BIR and we are delighted that they have become one of our main sponsors,” said Doug Woodring, Project Kaisei’s Co-Founder and Project Director. “Together with the scientific endorsement and ongoing collaboration of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, BIR’s sponsorship provides us with the necessary resources to carry out our mission this summer. We hope to be able to come back with answers to the many questions surrounding the large volumes of waste in the ocean, the damage it causes to the ocean ecosystem and the ways to fight it.”

You can follow the expedition via Google Earth.