The Trash Vortex 2000

Recorded Presentation

David Wang

Final Presentation - David + Ian

David Rogers and Ian Emery

Did you know the Great Pacific Garbage is a pile of floating trash that is twice the size of Texas?  The purpose of the project is to create a low-cost autonomous machine that is able to collect sea trash. The project was inspired by the discovery of a spinning vortex that was able to capture trash that is not directly next to the machine. This tool brings the trash to it instead of it going the trash. The founders, Ian Emery and David Rogers saw the need to help the growing problem of sea trash that harms animals, humans and plants and their environments. Over 230 million tons of trash being dumped into the ocean every year.  The project is very important today and will only continue to be helpful in the future to help secure a healthy environment. This project lead us to ask our selves many important questions like "is the current rate we dump trash into our waterways sustainable and how can we help aid in the cleanup prosses?". The project is a promising tool for local and federal governments and environmental organizations concerned with restoring ocean health. the project uses a vortex that spins the water in such a way that collects trash from the water. we created an auger that makes a strong vortex and made a net for easy collection of the trash. The prototype utilizes a small lightweight RC airplane motor that is able to spin very fast without adding unnecessary weight. The Trash Vortex  2000 is able to float on four floats that are on arms connecting to the main body of the vortex. the vortex is able to move freely or be anchored to the bottom in a known trash-filled area. The trash vortex has a built-in net for easy collection of the trash by the user. Besides the need for the collection of the trash the trash vortex is fully autonomous. The trash vortex is the first line of defense when it comes to keeping our oceans clean.