TrashBoom
A floating barrier to stop plastic in rivers
The TrashBoom is a floating barrier to catch plastic waste in rivers and prevent it from entering the oceans. Locally-sourced materials enable rapid manufacturing and boost local economies while raising awareness within the society. That saves time, money, and emissions as no shipping is involved. It also increases scalability, making the solution feasible when targeting ultra-low-value plastics and non-recyclables in waterways. Minimized automation and complexity create jobs and ensure easy maintenance and repair. Open-source blueprints allow for re-building and create global impact.
Company/Institution
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Country
Germany
Designer(s)
Moritz Schulz; Karsten Hirsch
Moritz Schulz comes from graphic design and currently studies Industrial Design at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal. To develop the TrashBoom, he took a break to take immediate action but continued to finish his bachelor's and sharpen his skills for future UN-goal-related projects.
Karsten Hirsch developed the Startup "Plastic Fischer" to utilize the TrashBoom and establish our vision of clean oceans. Before shifting his focus to ocean pollution and the global plastic crisis, he studied law.
We both come from plastic-unrelated fields but wanted to make a change and went for it.