Designed to target key points in global oceanic trash circulation, addressing a 7-million-ton problem planet-wide, this system has rapidly evolved from conceptual and inspiring idea in the mind of a teenager to feasibility-studied, fully-funded project set to go live next year.

Boyan Slat‘s approach is going to be set up near the coasts of Japan and South Korea, tackling one of the most major passageways for garbage currently known, using “an anchored network of floating booms and processing platforms that could be dispatched to garbage patches around the world. Instead of moving through the ocean, the array would span the radius of a garbage patch, acting as a giant funnel. The angle of the booms would force plastic in the direction of the platforms, where it would be separated from plankton, filtered and stored for recycling.”

The initial array will span 2000 feet and be the longest floating structure built to date. One of the project primary targets will be the giant gyre known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – Slat’s organization, The Ocean Cleanup, believes this giant repository of waste could be cut in half within ten years. Some of the gathered trash will be recycled and other portions turned into biofuels.

Unlike other designs with similar but perhaps too bold of ambitions, this takes a surgeon’s scalpel to the problem, aiming to solve the largest areas first and with the least time and energy necessary. From from the project website: “The Ocean Cleanup develops technologies to extract, prevent, and intercept plastic pollution. The Ocean Cleanup’s goal is to fuel the world’s fight against oceanic plastic pollution, by initiating the largest cleanup in history. Instead of going after the plastic – which would take many thousands of years and billions of dollars to complete – The Ocean Cleanup uses long floating barriers to let the ocean currents concentrate the plastic itself. After having worked with a team of 100 volunteering scientists and engineers, a 2014 study confirmed the passive system is indeed likely a feasible and cost-effective method to remove half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 10 years’ time.”

The post Earth’s First Ocean Cleanup Array Set to Deploy in 2016 first appeared on Gajitz.

In any kind of emergency situation, being able to contact loved ones and emergency services can be lifesaving. But what happens when the power is off and you can’t charge up your mobile phone? This incredible hack shows how you can turn a cordless drill and a few other household items into a working phone charger, MacGyver-style.

The project involves hooking up the drill’s battery terminals to an old phone charger and cranking the drill’s rotating end to generate electricity. At a steady rotation rate the makeshift charger can generate about five volts.

As with any project that involves hacking electronics and using objects for purposes other than those they were intended for, there is a chance of damage occurring. By following the instructions carefully and monitoring the results, you can minimize the risk.

The project, from Grant Thompson, otherwise known as The King of Random, can even illuminate a small light bulb. It took about three hours of cranking the charger to charge the phone completely. When you’re in a tight spot and have no other way to charge your phone, a device like this is priceless – even if it does take forever.

The post Twist + Shout: DIY Phone Charger From Household Items first appeared on Gajitz.