Trash to Land

Overview

We already now that there is a patch of plastic in the Pacific Ocean at lest the size of Texas, as well patches in the Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. The question is what to do with the floating waste in the world’s oceans. Clean up would be a massive under taking and require more resources than could be feasibly provided. There is also the problem of stopping the flow of the waste, and say we clean it up it will start collecting again as soon as clean up is “finished.”  Instead of looking at the piles as waste they should be viewed as a resource. 

Proposal

There are more raw materials available floating in the sea and one might know what to do with. We know that the properties of plastic are conducive to long term exposure to salt water and other conditions at sea as well as its buoyancy.  If we view this plastic as resource then use the plastic to create Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS) on site.

With heat and pressure blocks could be created, at sea, then used as a foundation for floating structures. By creating interlocking blocks at see there would be little need to bring other construction materials to the site, in the initial phase.

A modified fishing vessel or other ship with large deck areas would be used to collect the plastic and form the blocks while another ship would be used for the placement of the blocks

Proof of Concept

The Mega-Float was an airport runway in Tokyo Bay that proved to be unfeasible but was tested with air craft. While Mega-Float may not be in use now the construction of the 1000m runway proves that structures of this size can be made and used, maybe not for runways.

Richart “Rishi” Sowa on the Caribbean coast of Mexico south of Cancun created Spiral Island, the base of the 3,600sqft manmade island was made up of 250,000 plastic bottles. The Island supported a two-story house and wells as a 23-foot tall mangrove tress. Hurricane Emily destroyed the original Spiral Island in 2005 when it was run aground. The 4,000sqft Spiral Island II contains around 100,000.

Uses

-Military Base              -Research Station/ Lab

-Air Field                     -Resort

-Docks                         -Staging Area

-Living Spaces             -Layover Location

 

Problems That Might Arise

The design of the blocks requires finding way to make them consistent. When collecting the plastic from the ocean the mix of the types of plastic will not be consistent and the density of the blocks would change based on the collected materials.

The weather is a constant factor when working on the high seas. It would be especially challenging in the early phases of the project but at some point the critical mass of the structure will start to minimize the effects of the weather.

There is the probability that the structure may not hold together in the way planned and would require fastening to keep it stable.

Phased Construction

Phase 1- Construction the base platform

            Part 1- Ship picks up the plastics

            Part 2- Plastics crushed and formed into blocks

            Part 3- Blocks assembled on deck

            Part 4- The larger block is dumped for collection

            Part 5- Second Vessel collects blocks and moves them to the site

            Part 6- The blocks are used to form the base

Phase 2- Creating usable spaces on the surface of the floating structure

Phase 3- Expansion and Use

References/Sourcing
 
Ocean Garbage Patches
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Garbage_Patch
        http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/286/new-garbage-patch-discovered-in-indian-ocean.html

Very Large Floating Structures
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_large_floating_structure
Mega-Float
        http://www.mlit.go.jp/english/maritime/mega_float.html
        http://www.srcj.or.jp/html/megafloat_en/index.html
Spiral Island
       http://www.spiralislanders.info/about.html
       http://ecoble.com/2007/11/18/250000-bottles-amazing-recycled-mexican-island-paradise/
       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_Island
Recycled Island
       http://www.recycledisland.com/
Other
      http://www.deltasync.nl/deltasync/index.php?id=1&L=0
      http://www.delta.tudelft.nl/nl/archief/artikel/shoebox-at-sea/20630
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk


Authors Note
This idea comes out of my reading, research, personal experiences, and projects I have done re-purposing objects. I welcome any feed back.