Interceptor Trashfence Stops a Plastic Tsunami in the World’s Most Polluting River (Then Fails)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- We are now testing our Interceptor Trashfence in Guatemala's Rio Motagua Basin home to what we believe to be the world's most polluting river. Subscribe to our channel to stay updated: bit.ly/371k8sN
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stop this particular trash tsunami, but are working hard to get it right & stop up to 20M kg of plastic from reaching the Caribbean Sea, every year.
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To rid the oceans of plastic, we need to not only clean up what is already out there but also stop new plastic from entering the ocean: we need to close the tap.
Rivers are the main source of ocean plastic pollution. They are the arteries that carry waste from land to the ocean. Our research found that 1000 rivers are responsible for roughly 80% of the pollution.
Working together with government leaders and private corporations, our goal is to tackle these 1000 most polluting rivers. How? By deploying Interceptors.
The Interceptor is The Ocean Cleanup’s answer for river plastic waste. It is the first scalable solution to prevent plastic from entering the world’s oceans from rivers.
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Follow The Ocean Cleanup on:
Facebook: bit.ly/2QWgmLQ
Twitter: bit.ly/2RqHqSk
Instagram: bit.ly/2st9SKT
And follow The Ocean Cleanup on:
Facebook: bit.ly/2QWgmLQ
Twitter: bit.ly/2RqHqSk
Instagram: bit.ly/2st9SKT
Read more about this project here: theoceancleanup.com/updates/the-ocean-cleanup-trials-new-interceptor-in-worlds-most-polluting-river/
Hey do you guys have an email I can contact you?
OMG!
I have never seen so much trash in one river before. Is this a yearly occurrence?
Next time try way higher and stronger fence. And ether dig it down under the ground, or make a L shape tarp facing toward the stream to avoid water digging under the fence. And thank you all for trying to stop all the plastic getting in to the ocean.
Great work, tho truly drepessing amount of trash!...Think I'd try something like trawling fishing nets and maybe stagger nets rather than cover the full width of river in a single spot like that.....
Just wow, so much! Unfortunately the fence is not yet stable enough 🙈
Please build a set of 2 fences, the downstream one even finer
You guys are doing amazing work! How do I come volunteer? U.S. Navy Veteran about to graduate with a mechanical engineering degree from UCSD, what can I do to help?
Consider a multi-fence approach; the first with larger holes, then smaller holes with each subsequent fence. Spread out the burden. Also looks like a concrete pad would help with erosion.
This is what i was going to say 👍
@@r0games879 Then just hit the thumbs-up button, to save you and us some time.
Looks like the fences they put up in swizerland to catch the boulders. I believe they also have several lines.
and make it taller
@@r0games879 Me too!
The fence needs to be put in in a V shape with the V pointing upstream, so that the floating plastic is channelled away sideways towards the banks leaving the centre clear for the main flow of the river. Also consider making it raked, but with a higher vertical net to catch the plastic and not allow it to over top.
The V going upstream would also allow for a much larger surface area in which to catch debris, and let water pass. would require one larger anchor in the center of the stream or an X pattern going to the opposing shores further up stream. that one set of 4 anchors would also facilitate a second point in which to catch debris, all within a single system. Have it be a flat concrete area which would allow for easy clean up with excavators. a large highspeed trash conveyor could cut down the load in extreme cases and be a way to have a manageable water exit area. But yea.... what happened in the end.?!?!?
The V is what I had in mind. Depending on the topography I wonder if the plastic collection could be somewhat automated on the river banks.
It also needs rip rap with the fence anchored below the rip rap.
Like a giant Cowcatcher - 1880s Western Railroad style
this would definitely be an improvement, but nothing's gonna change the fact that this will need to be continuously actively cleared. otherwise it's just a matter of time until it turns into a solid wall.
They should consider having a conveyor type of machine scooping the plastic out onto the bank. If at first you don't succeed, try try again.
Its refreshing to see a company admit when things went wrong. Without the fence none of it wouldve been stopped. With the fence failing, some did and you got data. The next fence should be better and stop all the plastic in the future.
Trying is the first step to failure but still good Job @The Ocean Cleanup. You'll get it right the next time.
@@oscardavila8653 im confused by this saying. Trying is the first step in failure but it's also the first step in success? Wouldn't not trying also be the first step in failure?
A two year old would have designed that failure.
So when will you admit that recycling was a scam?
See the results? We sell all our garbage to them, and they dump it in the ocean.
@@mobius273
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
- Someone older than most of us
This is not a failure, just a lesson learned. Keep doing what you're doing bc its awesome.
just beggining,good job my friends
Also, add a system to remove the debris in real time.
How about pulley sysem, not unlike a clothesline between two buildings. The line would have nets that would skim through the water and pull trash out, then be brought back across to the other side as the "clothesline" circled like a chain on a bike. Like emptying a sinking boat, remove the trash, remove the backup.
Maravilhoso esse trabalho!!!! O planeta merecem!!!
Well said
these kind of videos should be shown on the news around the world. i'm well aware of the polluted rivers and oceans worldwide, but the sheer amount of plastic actually running through them is insane, i can't grasp it.
nice project and video :)
Right and or leaders are worried about gas powered vehicles . plastic should be1concern
@@jennyanimal9046 Well both are an issue
Well consider some countries just dump their waste in the ocean instead of landfills. That's far worse than just litter thrown into rivers. That is why it's so absurd seeing these ocean cleanup operations. It's like using a bucket to scoop water out of a sinking titanic. Just pointless. It's not a Western issue, media needs to stop pretending like it is. Banning plastic straws and stuff like that is just literally absurd to the highest degree.
@@estebanbolduc a volcano makes more co2 than us. Co2 historically was much higher before humans and no issues. Its a scam. Solar output is rhd main driver of temperature. Efforts like this are far more realistic than paying carbon scam to rich banking families.
3 world citizens dont give fuck, they just drop trash everywhere
In addition to a multi-level approach , to separate the larger particles, there should also be a continuous extraction system . This would prevent a massive build up of trash and prevent overpressure from breaking the fences.
Still, not bad for a first trial run. Keep it up.
multi level wont work, you'll get clogging quickly. but yes some kind of extraction system would be the solution.
Yeah. Forget about fish.
First thing I was thinking about was a extraction system 👍👍
@@rosssmith8481 This is rain water
@@infl
I heard a lot of rivers work that way.
Here in Central France our problem is leaves and heavy rainfall in Autumn.
The local solution is to have grills with vertical slats leaning back at right angles across the flow so that the pressure of the water pushes the leaves, or in your case plastic, up the grill so the water can go underneath. Think of an old American train with a cow catcher and stick a modern version in there. You could just pull it all out as it came to the sides.
Let the water do the work.
I was thinking of something similar. Two fences that can be set to alternate so that one will skim as the other is cleaned.
@@kirbyculp3449 A Cow Catcher type barrier would use the water to push the plastic up and out to the sides to be harvested.
Probably a perfect solution, since it's "selfcleaning".
Wow! Yes. With a long sharp piont. Be prepared to remove as it pushes toward shore.
You can also see the plastic being pushed up over the fence.
So with your suggestion, that will to an even greater degree push the plastic up, they should add trays at the other side of the fence, so the plastic will automatically be pushed into those trays, and could be carried away.
"You cannot succeed without failing first." Good to see new ideas being tested, hopefully they gathered a lot of data to improve the next version.
actually, you can succeed the first time if your plan works.
@@excitedbox5705 yeah what a clown... wanted to seem smart with a quote
@@excitedbox5705 all engineering projects to date have not succeeded in the first attempt, that is why pilot projects and prototypes exist. and this project had multiple unknown variables that include soil density, trash weight, water speed and water height. as this was a flash flood. you cannot plan for this without running a pilot. you seem to be someone who has never worked on a big project before. so better stop talking about things you have no idea about.
No, abandon the project and make the stupid people handle their garbage correctly. Why do we even allow them destroying our planet?
You sure can succeed without failing first, otherwise NASA would be have failed every single of it's projects given that most of them were never made before.
It's heartbreaking to see all this trash. Thank you guys for working on solutions.
No solution only band-aids.
It's called human life. If you don't like it, you know what to do.
@@tipi5586 It's called ignorant, ruthless egomaniacs.
@@tipi5586 Disgusting
@@tipi5586 Literally doesn't have to be this way but ok snowflake.
No reason to be discouraged, your doing such an incredible job.
like the pedestrian bridge in Florida ..... " never mind"
Good on these people. Bravo.
I live 5klms from the coast in Queensland Australia.
I walk every day beside the road which is only 500m from the river.
Every day there is more trash from vehicle's.
Most of the people coming out here are fishers. It's hard to imagine what they are thinking. But that's where the problem lays. I'm 60 years old. I was taught to keep it until you found a trash/ rubbish bin.
It's programming. That's all.
People are lazy, don’t care about consequences because they don’t see the consequences. This is a big thankless job most days.
I'm from Guatemala and I was about to start a project for stop trash in this exact river until I found out the ocean cleanup would work here like almost a year ago. I'm totally concerned about it, proud, grateful and hoping in you 🙏
You could try to do something to help them remove trash
I say that if you want to then you should go through with your idea, I imagine Ocean Cleanup would appreciate the help and support
Absolutely go ahead and find a solution as well. The best way to solve a problem is with as many people as possible
@@unraged6004 I would love to! But idk how to contact them
@@katycat1089 well I'm sure the information is out there! Don't give up before you've started
I feel like a more important question is: *"WHY is there a trash tsunami to begin with?"*
(It is still awesome that you guys managed to capture it)
When a people are trying to survive each day, pollution is not high on their list.
because sadly most human beings dont give a shit and just chuck their rubbish.
Guatemala has a long history of this behavior. They dump trucks into rivers. Honduras sued them and won.
@@glasshalffull8625 Poor people in Japan don't shit where they sleep. It's a cultural thing.
@@glasshalffull8625 not all poor people are filthy pigs but most minorities are..
Probably the most shocking thing,apart from the amount of plastic,is that this hasn't been implemented years earlier on all rivers at some point.Still good to see someone starting somewhere.
Yeah, this thing will absolutely fuck with fish.
There's is something called environmental disturbing
If people really cared about the plastic/environment, they would rally to raise funds for these countries to get them infrastructure to bring their garbage to landfills. They really can’t get a handle on this situation until basically these incredibly poor countries become developed with capitalistic ideologies…. Suburbs, trash pick up, trash cans. All these villages everywhere just throw their trash in the rivers because that’s the only place to get rid of it
Yes, its an easy solution, if theres a bottleneck area. Can put fence there
@@doesnotexist6524 It sounds like a temporary solution for flash floods besides, with the amount of plastic in that water not like there will be many fish in there anyway.
One of the rare videos that i liked before seeing it just based on the title. It takes a great amoung of honesty and integrity to unqeuivocally admit that you tried and failed without trying to brush it up. Your journey is truly inspiring and kudos to the whole team. Keep it up!
I live in Las Vegas, NV, where flash floods break everything, even fortified concrete. You might want to see if their designs are available to view to help with the trouble shooting. The pressure of the water alone puts massive weight on the soil when something tries to obstruct it. Good luck and thank you for getting out there to figure this mess out!
Live here as well - in fact moved here just a few days before the 100yr flood and was flabbergasted by the destruction on Boulder Hwy, esp at Miracle Mile.
I think the link to the RFCD Dropbox is broken now, but they did have their files and models for view at one time. Plans still have active links, and there might be info there of use.
Impressed to see the video posted, even with the fencing not working entirely as expected.
I live in Vegas but I never go out don't know what yall taco bell
I'm not an engineer nor a scientist but I could have told them this before releasing many thousands of tonnes of plastic into the sea.A small scale model could have shown this long before they simply errected a reinforce mesh fence across the river/floodway 🤷For real...what year is it?🤦
@@neiljoy8465 Well I'm sure all that plastic is released into the ocean regularly from pollution and running off into the river, The fence is to stop that. I can assure you they didn't put the plastic there to test their fence lol.
@@neiljoy8465 do you mean like building that barcade in a flashflood area that already washes trash into the ocean?
WOW what a great idea
Most people have no idea how much plastics are deposited in our oceans each year. This is only one flash flood in one river! Please keep up this great work!
Even worse is that due to the propaganda they don't understand some countries don't even try to prevent garbage going into the oceans. The CCP is responsible for the vast majority of the pollution.
And a lot of it comes from developing countries because they do not have the money to install proper mitigation strategies. The US gets a lot of flack, a lot of it well deserved, for pollution, but we also do a lot to mitigate it. It is not 1972 any more.
They dump their garbage in the river as they have no desire or funds to do otherwise .
This is an issue that far exceeds the climate change political agenda.
@@stevet5379 it makes the efforts of almost every country a joke by what china does in pollution. This is one of the few groups I actually like because they are just going out to fix the problem not force the population to go back to the stone ages but without fire... Yes that is one of the options the elites have talked about at the WEF.
That was impressively effective until the riverbed eroded. You're doing a fantastic job!
@Nah mate uhh They know about erosion I'm sure, usually you can't fix everything on the very first try So now they know where the weak spots would be And they can try again.
@Nah mate yeah I get what you're saying but this was also the beginning steps in solving the problem, They built the fence and I think they were checking to see where the weak spots would be for erosion. Even if that's not what they were looking for, now they know where the weak spots are, But I don't think these engineers built a fence without once thinking about erosion. If they didn't take that Into consideration then they probably shouldn't be engineers. What does the country have to do with anything that I said though? Engineers in every country should have the same basic knowledge of erosion
@Nah mate either way now they know not to do the same thing next time. I think I may have a solution I'm trying to work it out in my head
Lesson learned. Good suggestions here too. Immiadetely removing plastic. An arch. Multiple fence with different size holes etc. Keep up the good work!
Like you said, it’s a learning process and you found some things that could be improved on. It’s still a HUGE success! Hats off to everyone involved!
Repent to Jesus Christ
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:16 NIV
K
@@repentandbelieveinjesuschr9495 Thank you
that's how the Panama Canal was built. they didn't know what they were doing, so, do something & fix the mistakes.
The way Guatemalan people throw trash on the ground is shocking. This is unfortunately a huge problem in every non-Western country. As an environmentalist I'm deeply concerned about undeveloped immigration to the West, as these people have proven they see no value in taking care of their trash --- they simply throw their trash on the ground and see no problem with it. That's why Western countries are the ONLY countries in the world (!!!) that have clean environments (and also beautiful architecture), all non-Western countries are covered in trash that flows into the oceans. As an environmentalist, that is my only concern with undeveloped immigration to the West. The West is the only clean part of the world, but the immigrants simply do not value the enormous beauty of a clean environment. And we can all now see that these people don't stop throwing trash when they arrive in Western countries.
@@gailwaters814 If you take a look at the trash that is being thrown in beaches all over the states after the 4th of July, it's quite sad. There's also a bunch of bad neighboorhoods or should I say ''hoods'' in the U.S. These places are filled with garbage/piss smelling areas that are disgusting. I don't think you can take a look at this river and say : ''Hey, I think the whole country is filled with it.''....
It's very sad to know how much trash is going into the ocean. That is quite a large scale and only from one area. You guys are doing so good. I wish all the best and hope you succeed.
It’s the most polluted river on earth and only floods rarely
Good thing California banned plastic straws
@@schmidt46 😂😂😂
@@schmidt46 That is a start.
You can blame the corporations for creating all this garbage
The multi-fence approach being suggested by other comments is a good addition, I would also suggest a wedge shape for the fence, facing upstream it would naturally push the debris to the sides.
This would be the best way to use the waters energy to force the debris into the mouths of collection systems that will be needed to pair with a concept like this. Think like a pool skimmer but a massive one. It would reduce the carbon footprint of the clean up considerably.
Also make the fence mesh start ahead of the structure, and curve up toward it, and away from the center, with higher overflow levels at the sides than the center.
That would work well with me idea i posted on another thread....
They need something to remove the plastic before it reaches maximum height on the fence. Large dumpsters on the sides with netting that can be mechanically controlled to drop in the water, and lifted out full of plastic... along the same lines as a recycle truck picking up bins, emptying and setting back down.
The beams need to be piles. Make the beams 70-100 feet long. Then drive them 30-50% of their total length down into the earth with equipment. Do multiple rows with different size fence spacing on the mesh fence. Long term a cable yarder could span the river with a picker grapple to remove large pieces during a flood or a basket to remove garbage mid flood. Cable yarders are simple. An anchor point can be put across the river. The the yarder which is a tracked crane with a tall vertical boom can then drive up and down the road with the cable spanning the river. Then a winch runs up and down the cable with a grapple that can be lowered to grab stuff or a mesh bucket to pick up garbage. They are used in mountains logging.
The amount of trash is incredible, not in a good way. I've never seen anything like this, helps to visualise the impact we have on the world. Great work guys, a lot of good comments in the thread that I think can help you improve your design and nail the next one.
Extremely impressed that your organization takes on such a massive problem. All my admiration. Keep going!
People throw your garbage in the trash! This is horrendous. Great innovation on the man made plastic curse! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Honestly, I think it’s great to see the less successful attempts along with showing the major milestones. It helps keep perspective on how massive this issue is. You all are doing amazing work, thank you!!
Like SpaceX crash montages. It's impossible to figure out all of the right decisions in advance.
That was a success for the most part. The trash needs to be constantly pushed to the sides and removed to let the water thru. Maybe a multi fence approach could also help out as well. Great first start!
Yes, I was thinking the same.
There needs something that removes the trash so the water keeps flowing.
Yeah, was thinking along same line. Make it a triangle facing towards the stream, so the water itself while pushing trash forward spreads it to the sides while leaving a path through the middle open.
Got to remove the trash from the river as it collects.
Oh also! Like a designated collections area where it all kinda pushes into an easily cleanable land area!
A V shape fence facing upstream would divert the plastic either side
This is absolutely amazing, what a mess humans can make!! Thank you for making the efforts to try and stop this from reaching the oceans. Your incredible determination is a lesson to us all to stop polluting!
Not amazing to me. I clean up two garbage bags of trash every day from the park near my house. I also walk a lot so I see all the rubbish people throw out of cars. Nappies are the worst.
Truly, what a mess the corporations make
Having barriers at the source is better than at the last section. Great effort though.
you mean the third world.
Man this is heartbreaking to see yet soo inspirational. You guys are doing amazing work.
Im just shocked by the amount of plastic in that one river..
You should see the amount of trash in Guatemala.
It. Is. Everywhere.
And, nobody has stopped manufacturing plastics.
@@Diana1000Smiles it’s not the plastic, it’s the low quality humans putting it on the ground.
This doesn’t happen in counties with IQ above 70
No heartbreak. They're making great progress. Progress can not involve pitty
The way Guatemalan people throw trash on the ground is shocking. This is unfortunately a huge problem in every non-Western country. As an environmentalist I'm deeply concerned about undeveloped immigration to the West, as these people have proven they see no value in taking care of their trash --- they simply throw their trash on the ground and see no problem with it. That's why Western countries are the ONLY countries in the world (!!!) that have clean environments (and also beautiful architecture), all non-Western countries are covered in trash that flows into the oceans. As an environmentalist, that is my only concern with undeveloped immigration to the West. The West is the only clean part of the world, but the immigrants simply do not value the enormous beauty of a clean environment. And we can all now see that these people don't stop throwing trash when they arrive in Western countries.
Not perfect but it’s stopped so much plastic for a first try! This is amazing and please keep up the good work!
Immediately the plastic should be removed through container
The way Guatemalan people throw trash on the ground is shocking. This is unfortunately a huge problem in every non-Western country. As an environmentalist I'm deeply concerned about undeveloped immigration to the West, as these people have proven they see no value in taking care of their trash --- they simply throw their trash on the ground and see no problem with it. That's why Western countries are the ONLY countries in the world (!!!) that have clean environments (and also beautiful architecture), all non-Western countries are covered in trash that flows into the oceans. As an environmentalist, that is my only concern with undeveloped immigration to the West. The West is the only clean part of the world, but the immigrants simply do not value the enormous beauty of a clean environment. And we can all now see that these people don't stop throwing trash when they arrive in Western countries.
As mentioned earlier, consider multi fencing in multi layers, in this way, if you primary layer loss, the secondary and tertiary fence layers will eventually take over. I hope it works. Good job. Don't loose hope. You are doing wonderful work. ❤❤
Thank you to everyone who created this Interceptor Trashfence. As you address the weaknesses visible from this first run, it'll get even better. This trash fence will spark other ideas for solutions of this kind in other places. It's a shame that so much garbage is getting into our waterways but better to capture it than let it continue flowing into larger bodies of water.
A fantastic idea and great first result. I guess the power of the water would inevitably undermine the base of the fence but I have the greatest admiration for those in Guatemala for actually trying to do something to stop all of this disgraceful human waste getting into the ocean! Huge respect guys! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
While I agree about this with you. And these guys are trying very hard to work on such a solution which in the end could be pretty ground breaking.
The main issue is why is this happening. Fixing the slums and garbage collection. Building up their econemy and such would be a huge way to fix this. It's the poorer communities that 1 can't afford trash pick up or the towns are so packed that the vehicles to pick up trash can't even get in. So the populous just dumps it in the river near by to get rid of it. There are more issues then this but if the goverment really cared about it they would fix the source of the issue.
@@rurirotaru516 its not just a guetrmala issue, the whole world 's waste end up in the ocean. They are doing what they can and it's much more admirable than country like the usa
Baind-aid solution. Which is needed. However, we really need to look at the production of plastic and the consumption of plastic. Is there a better way to deliver coke to consumers without the plastic bottle? Those are the real solutions.
That should have been predictable by Engineers you would think
We need to give our boy scouts guns and steer them to any third world country. There's a foxworth comic about this
Amazing and inspiring. It is still a huge win due the visualization of the amount of waste that the fence accumulated in such a short time. That mass was shocking. We need more people like you and the effort you put into this project to save our world for future generations and keep us from killing off our planet. The signs all are there that we need to take pollution seriously. Thank you for your great work.
No what we really need is 3rd world countries to stop throwing all their garbage into rivers. All the plastic in the oceans... Barely any of it came out if rivers in North America or Europe.
Just a suggestion… maybe instead of trying to stop it in 1 go and causing the massive pressure you could have a series of smaller fences. Some will get through each, but with less strain on each fence it could prevent the water erosion on the base of the river which caused the leak here. Amazing mission though guys!! You are hero’s in high vis 💪🏻
Yes, lots of smaller fences upstream would help.
I just graduated college with my bachelors degree in marine biology and I hope to make a huge difference in preserving our oceans in the future
I commend you! Very lucrative field
All the best 👍
Why did you come to this video to talk about yourself? Kinda cringe, bro.
@@jjaapp18 No, it's not cringed at all. You are instead.
All the best!!! The world needs people like you. 👏👏👏👏
This is great!
In the last scene, the river takes a right turn, but there is a section of backwater to the left. Maybe consider placing the fence on an angle at that location so the downstream water will naturally push the trash into a managed backwater area for easier cleanup?
10 out of 10 for this suggestion!
Because plastic is lighter than water, it will tend to take the inside of a curve.
👏🏾
What's great about it. It hasn't helped
@@virginiajoll689 Lots of flood-carried trash was addressed by that fence. Besides, your comment didn’t help anything and wasn’t great, but you still posted it!
It warmed my heart to see how enthusiastic these gentlemen are about their attempt to stop the plastic from reaching the ocean! Thank you for what you are doing! Mother Earth is smiling at you! 🌎
Have to use biodegradable plastics. Or tetrapak. Tetrapak is better than plastic bcs the outer is cardboard
attack the issue at its source, the litterbugs. convicted litterbugs should be cleaning up this mess, a chaingang of trash collecting convicts, until your country is clean. Best way to educate guatemalans, this should be the sentence any judge gives for convicted litterbugs. Until government takes a strong stance on littering, this will continue, unmitigated. heartbroken and disgusted.
@@jimhofoss9982 The source isn't the people using it as much as it is companies who don't care and continue to make plastic
@@bennydontplaythat Its people discarding it without remorse…a cultural change needs to be implemented
@@jimhofoss9982 The problem is the materials themselves. Plastic is bad for the environment regardless of if you throw it in the trash or throw it on the ground.
Go to the grocery store and try to avoid anything with plastic packaging: it's near impossible, and that's the problem.
Instead of a V pointing upstream, have a single long angle from the cliff side to the beach side (from upstream to downstream). This will give more surface area to strain the plastic and will deposit the plastic on the beach side of the river (where they are standing) for easier cleanup.
Excellent idea. They could also dig a 20’ deep trench in the river bed and put the fence all the way to the bottom.
@@zimmermanlandscape9287 Great idea, tackle the erosion that is likely to happen underneath the fence....
The only failure is not making an attempt. How else do we learn? This was amazing!
Love that you are showing the trials and tribulations of this mammoth cleanup. Goes to your integrity and transparency. Stay strong 👊🏼
I would have liked to see how much you caught even with the failure. I agree that a multi fence approach is probably what is needed. I am also not sure that a fence perpendicular to the river is the strongest. But what do I know!!!
It's not about the strength of the fence. The problem is that the fence made a dam, which increased the hydrodynamic pressure on the soil at the bottom of the dam/fence. The soil couldn't withstand the pressure and gave way. Water started to flow under the fence, which dug away more soil, and allowed the fenceposts to tilt.
Love the effort, love the excitement and i really hope the repairs hold. You should be proud of how much you trash you prevented from getting beyond the fence.
But, where does the plastic garbage go next?
@@Diana1000Smiles The Ocean Cleanup has pinned a link to give you more information about the project that should answer your question.
The joy on his face seeing, first hand, a project he worked on working at nearly 100% is giving me life.
Outstanding work!!!
u didn't watch the whole thing did you?
The fact that you're doing something is a massive win for us all. Thank you!!! Keep it up!
Congratulations on such a monumental first attempt! My stomach turns thinking about that massive amount of trash flowing into our oceans, but my heart soars at this kind of effort to make a better home for all of us! 😍 You have learned and will do better next time! I also wish I knew a source of information on what is being done to prevent this amount of trash not being properly disposed of in the first place. I assume it has something to do with economics and lack of education or concern by those in charge of these places.
That isn't even close to what the CCP allows into the oceans intentionally.
Dontt you want fishes to have ickle fish houses?
Imagine, this is only 1 river in 1 country. Many people in basically every country takes littering for granted, not knowing that it comes back to haunt them.
You are so right.
I live in Guatemala, I’m not from Guatemala but I live there.
It’s a cultural thing.
One culture throws no trash on the ground and another throws everything on the ground.
I’ve heard it was like that in the us and they made an effort to change it and they did.
It can be done but education is key and that’s an issue here
The problem is that humans are evil.
For that particular location, it may work to install your fencing on a skew to the river channel and use the same fencing to form a channel for the debris along the nearside bank. Also use the fencing to form a static containment area at the bend in the river. This would allow the water to push the debris to a containment area outside of the water pressure and not build up along the main fence line. Where the debris is contained the water flow is much lower and will not push on the fence as much. Where the flow is high there will not be as much debris to push against.
The other problem I have is they didn't have equipment on sight to remove debris as it built up to prevent a breach of containment.
Digging the fence down a few feet. Filling with riprap material. Since the plastic mostly floats, having something in hand to skim/contain or incinerate the plastic; even better, melt it into a lump and bury it.
@@michaelwinter742 or a continuous process that rolls it into 10x2 planks or some other useful structural wood substitute. That would require a considerable power supply though.
@@MattOGormanSmith Two-stage dam with a weir purposefully built into the top, letting the water down into the bottom portion. And hook up a turbine in the connector tubes, ta-da hydroelectric power!
@@guyman1570 not enough water and not deep enough to do that...
Thank you for your continued efforts, it is so greatly appreciated. You will figure out how to optimise the fence, I believe it 🙏🏻
In addition to Mr.Baker’s improvements,add a “Ferris wheel” like bucket elevator,powered by the current, to scoop plastic out as it builds up,depositing it on a conveyor,which carries it to the bank...or even a waterproof constructed screened conveyer alone, parallel to the fence, at the proper height to carry the plastic to the bank or beyond...
That is what I was thinking. The same kind of setup that is utilized by the native people in Alaska to scoop up salmon in the river.
I envision a system that can actually burn the plastic to power itself...
This stuff isn't good for much at this point, but I could see it being used to either make modular wall systems for buildings, or being burned for energy.
We engineered ourselves into this mess, and we can engineer our way out.
@@g.k.1669 Or just start a recycling program that actually pays well for plastic.
Straight to an incineration facility
@@owl1873 No recycler will but it, it's almost useless for making products, unfortunately. Which is not to say advances in petroleum engineering couldn't render it more useful. But currently, the best use is to burn it for energy.
You can put the fence at an angle (in the flow direction) instead of 90 degrees. this will not only prevent clogging of the holes but also the debris will be pushed up by the water, where it could be collected/transferred (can use a simple conveyor belt)
I was thinking the same thing. More like a fence ramp. With fence laying on the river bottom, that could help prevent bypass should scouring occur.
Yup, similar to a square root sign laid on it's right upstream. Step one for these guys is to put the fence on upstream side, surprised brackets or fence itself didn't fail on this setup. Step two, design some better posts that cause less erosion behind them. they will get it figured out.
My hat still goes off to you that was a excellent attempt it still work beautifully I can't wait to see version 2 good job thank you for trying to clean up this world we need more people like you
i think this is possible, but you have to allow for the water to flow through at certain points. I would set up a mesh drainage system underneath the fence and extend it into the garbage dam area by around 20 feet, that way you can help spread the force of the water over multiple load points, maybe making a culvert system to divert water from upstream around the dam once its completely filled with trash.
diverting once it's full is the best answer. anything else offers too much room for failure. if you had a second channel with it's own fence you could possible divert the water into the alternate channel and use a bulldozer to push the material in this fence into a huge pile out of the channel. alternate back and forth and capture a huge amount of trash.
Congratulations! I call that a bold success!
May I humbly suggest a “table-top” model, where the water’s flow is directed over, and out across a horizontal mesh so that the heavy water will fall down through the mesh leaving the light weight plastic atop the mesh so that the water cannot push against it.
It would be desirable to remove the trash from whatever separation device you finally do use, even as it is working during the flood. Again I humbly suggest that water be used to power such a removal device through something like an Alaskan fish wheel.
Very, very, exciting. Bravo for your efforts.
Yes. Side hold. On left right up 30 feet. Then once dry collect bottles. .maybe recycle. Glass andplastic. Send to recycle center by truck
Though you were not entirely success, you've shown us visually how much plastic waste is going into the ocean just in Guatemala! Each person individually needs to dispose of their plastic ethically as so much marine life is endangered by it. Well done! KeepSmiling 😊🌺
People who live on $0.17 a day don't care where they put the trash
This probably showcases the real concern with the ocean. Not over-fishing, but that the ocean is a filthy as fuck.
Do they even have plastic collection centers? USA doesnt
It's not so much individual people being the problem, it's they lack access to proper disposal systems
@@somerandomchannel382 Or, you know, both. Both are real concerns. Just in different ways.
Tremendous result from a pilot trial. *Great Job* to all involved and I hope this initiative expands and shows what can be done. 👍👍
"tremendous result" !!!! is a waste of resurce/time money !!!!
before put it to the paper one should imagine the result /fail and come with better plan/concept
just childish or ignorant , no offence intended but we must stop be hypocrite and call things on name
@@TheMakyato You can't guess how many thousands of litres of water appear in a flash flood, nor can you say for sure how many tonnes of plastic will be involved. I'm sure they made estimates, but the best testing is physical.
so what they test ?! i say that the structure was destined to fail and this was to obvious before starting to build it
@@TheMakyato where’s your trash fence tho?
This was a win. Your excitement when it was first working was more than warranted. Keep going you wonderful people
For preventing erosion, try extending the meshing upstream along the seabed and anchoring in place there (in a similar way to how you have reinforced the banks)
Good idea 👍
Tubular meshwork.......Weather vein style.
Or Waterfall Cliff catching with funnel Hammock directed into Mesh Bottom Shipping Containers.
So proud of you all ❤️ the world is watching.
Thank you for all you are doing ❤️
maybe have a few of them downstream so they catch any ones that get away from the first fence and have the holes decrease in size for each subsequent 'strainer' so it doesnt overwhelm the structure. Well done, nice work x
The beams need to be piles. Make the beams 70-100 feet long. Then drive them 30-50% of their total length down into the earth with equipment. Do multiple rows with different size fence spacing on the mesh fence. Long term a cable yarder could span the river with a picker grapple to remove large pieces during a flood or a basket to remove garbage mid flood. Cable yarders are simple. An anchor point can be put across the river. The the yarder which is a tracked crane with a tall vertical boom can then drive up and down the road with the cable spanning the river. Then a winch runs up and down the cable with a grapple that can be lowered to grab stuff or a mesh bucket to pick up garbage. They are used in mountains logging.
@@OnlySnipe852 maybe you are into something.
Even a conveyor could do that, and for the wash from below, have the mesh anchored to the bed for 30feet or so upstream.
I think ideally, to put the strainer at an angle to corral the plastic to a place where a conveyor would be most effective, and have a removal system at that point.
Way more than a few truckloads there, but the recycling potential would be such that it could actually pay for itself in new raw materials for new products.
@@dangeary2134 Recycling plastic has proved uneconomical, especially mixed plastic like that. You'd spend millions/billions on labor for the manual sorting. Incineration with some sort of carbon capture is likely to be a better option, but also expensive.
That is your coffee cup you chucked out. Your sandwich wrapper you dropped. Your kids juice box she tossed. People need to take some accountability for what they buy and how they dispose of it.
I feel the ocean cleanup is one of the rare environmentalists done right. It though I don’t think they are entirely perfect. Keep experimenting and keep trying you are making great progress.
It's a drop in the bucket for what needs to be done. The true politics of fixing our trashed earth are so incredibly racist that it would make Hitler blush. The reality is that birth rates among non-white populations have to be forced into negative territory. The source of our problem is in non-white fertility and their sickening cultural practices of disposing of waste everywhere.
I'm glad to see this being done, excellent effort!
Place the fence at 45 degree angle to the flow of the water, the floating garbage will be pushed to the shore.
And have some sort of trash conveyer belt ready to clean it up into trucks or trash bins
@Gillie Monger Letting the water do the work of pushing the garbage towards the shore means that less pressure will be directly on the fence. The fence will need to be longer and taller, and the pillars of the fence will still obviously need stronger foundations. This will need a spillway of sorts for the garbage to collect.
You will not be able to stop a flash flood with a fence.
@@francoisbedard6021 Very important!
Combine that with a progressive scooping grates in advance and hardened runs you have a way to remove plastic from the flow.
Look into scum collection methods in DAF systems. Probably something to be learned from how floating debris is cleaned up in optimized procrsses like that.
Thank you for taking such efforts to clean up the environment!
At least get it back out of the rivers.
This was so satisfying to watch. Seeing all that trash being removed from the water so quickly and effectively. Great job guys! 👍
If you pinned the netting flat along the riverbed for a short distance, before ramping it upward on the poles the force of the plastic and the river itself would keep the netting in place. You could also slowly ramp the netting upwards off the riverbed towards the poles to give the water a larger area to flow through whilst giving you a larger area to catch the plastic.
Naah, erosion would still happen quite rapidly. Plastic builds up a layer, forces water down, lose the riverbed in a matter of weeks if not days.
@@fredpuntdroad8701 Im not convinced. If the mesh was raised up out of the water as i suggested, even if the plastic puts a layer on top, youre providing a much much greater area for the water to feed through and Its always going to take the path of least resistance. The plastic laying on top of the mesh would cause enough resistance that the pressure is reduced like if you filled a sieve with marbles and poured water in it. Its not going to go straight through one area like if would without the marbles. It would spread out toe force over a much larger area. Youd just need very strong steel poles in the riverbed to hold the weight of the mesh, the plastic and the water.
@@jpjapers
Look at the riverbed though: Fine tropical mud.
Just a bit of extra water pressure is going to cause erosion.
Blocking the whole top section of the flow is definately going to create a lot of pressure.
And blocking the whole thing as we saw in the video, is instant erosion. I honestly wonder if they have even a single engineer with any knowledge of fluid dynamics on their team. It's not even my main job and I could tell out of hand that this wouldn't work.
Everything of that sort here has a concrete bedding underneath over quite a distance. Otherwise the bottom's just going to erode away.
Then again we build for 50+ years. If they just want to have this up there for 1 year and it's okay if the river's half-ruined at that spot, they could get away with less.
@@fredpuntdroad8701 I don't think I'm explaining it well enough but the pressure would be less rather than more as you're spreading out the available area for water to flow through much much more. It's essentially allowing the space for the plastic to create it's own dam like we saw, only spread out over distance and height rather than just a perpendicular wall of plastic. If I have time I will run a simulation and see if my hypothesis is right.
@@jpjapers
Yes, and what I'm saying is 'less pressure' is still way too much from an erosion standpoint.
At least with a weak soil like this and assuming they're not making something temporary that'll be removed after a year.
I'd have much prefered to just have a hardened floor and sides with the barrier in between so it can't erode. Make sure it can't go wrong even if a bunch of unexpected things happen. There's no engineering like over-engineering after all. 😉
Of course neither of us knows what this river is, what its source is, what the flow speed is like etc. So I'm making several assumptions about the soil indeed being as weak as it looks visually, and this river regularly showing flow speeds like in the video.
Man, what a great and important job! Thank you guys! Great work! Fingers crossed that more people see this and that you get the financial recourses you deserve for those projects!
How can a government allow something like this to happen in the first place. This is unbelievable. What a mismanagement and incompetence.
Well, as a Guatemalan I can say that our government doesn't even care of it's own population so sadly, they care even less about residues management.
All those residues come from the capital city's dump, because there's no residue treating plant nor recycling centre nor any similar service. And that dump is in the middle of the river Las Vacas, so even tho the trash is dumped into some ground, is easily taken away by the river.
@@gtmarze The entire point of a government is to care for its population. Stop with that silly 'the elite' conspiracy stuff.
@@Engineer9736 The governments in poorer countries do not have oversight, most politicians are not even educated upto middle school. political positions are gained only to make money and they do not listen or care about the needs of the citizens. i live in a 3rd world country so I speak from experience. looking at your reply, you seem to be from a first world country, so your comment about governments of countries that you know nothing about is actually silly and ignorant.
i would implore you to educate yourself on matters you lack knowledge in before speaking about it.
Thank you so much for what you’re doing ! It’s amazing and makes me so happy to see more people trying to make a change and save the world ❤
Congratulations and most of all THANKYOU!!! Ppl like you that are making a difference deserve everything good in life!! 🙏🏻
Wow! This is going to stop a lot of plastic fast every season. The amount of plastic in this river really puts the scope of the plastic problem into perspective!
You mean people problem?
Thank you so much for putting the hard work and dedication into addressing such an important issue our world faces. Love you all.
I like the progress feedback and transparency…it’s a difficult and complex mission but highly admired
I am impressed by the effort to help the world's oceans. Thank you for trying. Without reading any comments, I have a thought: for one thing, sitting and waiting for failure will sometimes lead to failure. The movement of the plastic away from the fence could have started immediately. It could happen by scraping the surface of the water to remove the plastic, or by pulling the plastic off with backhoes or, and here's my favorite thought, make the fence a water-powered conveyor belt which literally pushes the plastic off to the side into a pile which can be loaded onto trucks and carried away. The movement of the water drives gears that move the fence and the fence carries plastic off the water.
This area probably doesn't have running water, much less electricity.
Exactly what I was thinking about. I also thought about having a suction machine of some sort to suck the plastic out from the surface of the water onto dry ground right away, that there's minimal interruption to the flow of water . 💧
@@kriegscommissarmccraw4205 His idea doesn't require electricity. The force of the river turns a water mill, the water mill turns the gears connected to the conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt moves all the trash inland. This is literally 3000 BC tech (and a very viable solution).
@@HexJK and multiple millios of USD okay
@@kriegscommissarmccraw4205 A water mill conveyor system wouldn't even break $10k (in material and labor), and would take less than a week to build after acquiring the material.
My thoughts: I'm sure there have been tons of ideas already mentioned. Pour concrete pad to secure fence and fence posts. Pads should extend downstream from fence. I'd recommend looking at how hydro-electrical dams manage water overflow for some ideas. Maybe have some metal loops sticking up along the concrete pads so you can secure whatever fence mesh is used to it. Perhaps set up at least 2 or 3 fences along the way. Ensure that trash will be held to a set point by the first fence, then overflow over the top and be captured by the next fence. Better to spread out the load between multiple fences instead of trying to catch it with just one fence. This way you don't have to create one super tall fence to withstand a huge force. Probably also a great idea to figure out where all the trash is coming from and how to prevent more trash building up at the source.
Despite the fence failing, it still looks like there is a lot of trash that could still be cleaned up. I look forward to what they try next. Solid effort.
The way Guatemalan people throw trash on the ground is shocking. This is unfortunately a huge problem in every non-Western country. As an environmentalist I'm deeply concerned about undeveloped immigration to the West, as these people have proven they see no value in taking care of their trash --- they simply throw their trash on the ground and see no problem with it. That's why Western countries are the ONLY countries in the world (!!!) that have clean environments (and also beautiful architecture), all non-Western countries are covered in trash that flows into the oceans. As an environmentalist, that is my only concern with undeveloped immigration to the West. The West is the only clean part of the world, but the immigrants simply do not value the enormous beauty of a clean environment. And we can all now see that these people don't stop throwing trash when they arrive in Western countries.
Definitely agree. Makes sense more to have three or more fences going slong the river to catch the overflow. And deeefinitely concrete bases for all the metal posts with braces.
Yes i. Agree. Make small canal. To left. As water will. Throw plastic into bush. Not ocean simple
Great progress! I would try to add a conveyer that pulls the collected rubbish out of the river and I think that would help stop the river backing up, building force and eroding the river bed. + something to keep the mesh from clogging, like a rotating mesh mechanism
Like at a river power plant, yes.
Conveyors driven by the water flow itself
You didn't fail, you just found a better way to get it done.❤😊
OMG! There is SO much plastic! 😮😢😢 It breaks my heart 💔 On the other hand great job guys!! The next attempt will work much better now that you know the weak spots :) I'm still in shock at how much there is 😮
Unfortunately, this a huge problem in a lot of the world that isn't usually considered first world. I remember seeing streets that we literally could not drive down because they were so full of trash.
If they could remove the plastic at some point, there won't be any weak spots because of no burden..
@@dvdv183 like one of those cat boxes that automatically scoops the poo?? 😆
You guys are the filter of the ocean, my respect goes to each and every person involved. I wish I didn't have to work or I'd be helping these guys! May I suggest some grizley bars followed by your mesh on a concrete slab to help erosion. If you have the grizley bars on a 45 degree incline, it should push the rubbish to the bottom causing less stress on the top part of the structure
This is brilliant! I have a local river at the bottom of my property that is subject to vast amounts of trash - I was planning the same thing - so wonderful to see it in action and all these comments below!
Might be even profitable if you can collect everything and go trough them and upstream has traffic. Amount of valuables people loose when in or near water is ridiculous.
As it was mentioned might want to add concrete foundation on the bottom to prevent water eating way under the fence and say bucket system to move material to shore to collect say phones etc heavier.
I would try to use some close to a "vertical belt fence" that can collect and move the trash constantly, given that the actual fence failed once the trash reached certain height. Could be easy to do with some mechanism and an external heavy duty electric motor, or even a water force - powered system, using the same force of the river to move the fence. Anyways this seems a great project. Thanks.
I love the idea. When you do your second modification, you need to make sure of safety for human and animals. In whitewater we call that a strainer. Think of your body as a noodle in the strainer. You get pushed into it and drowned or crushed by pressure. So please think about local where it is far from anyone possibly falling in river upstream and making it to your location. A sloped first fence would lower pressure and could pull themselves to end and out of water. One idea for thought.
Wow. That is such an important factor.
I hope they read through these comments.
There seems to be a lot of people that have additional knowledge to bring to the table.
What an overwhelming and difficult task it must be to try and clean up pollution on a scale like this. Seeing it all in one spot makes it seem even more insurmountable.
Pains my heart to see this! You guys are the best! Hope you get this resolved soon!
Kudos! Admire your dedication & commitment. What an effort to clean up the planet. Well done!
SpaceX didn't land their rockets in the first try - but now they are doing it every time! It takes time to perfect a design and this design is looking very promising. Great idea and great work 😊👏🏼
Thank you for everything that you’re doing to cleanup the plastics in the ocean!
Use the "V" shape pointed upstream with holding areas on either side for the plastic to collect into so a conveyor or auger can rapidly collect. Maybe even a large trommel could be used on either side to keep water flowing.
What are they going to do with the trash building up at the fence? Manually remove it? Take it to where? Burn it?
Indeed. A v shape or a round shape like a dam. These shapes already exist....and it must be very robust. And then collectors with shredders. The best is to produce less plastic.....and the mindset to want to use less plastic.
Yeah, it needs some big industrial system to haul the rubbish out and cremate it, fast! There's just no way to stop that much crap, it'll always find a way past - over, under or through - if you let it build up.
Would love to see an update on this. Great job with your efforts and thank you
it must have been the most satisfying feeling ever to witness this in person especially if you are one of the engineers who designed it and dedicated so much time and love to the project
This guys reaction is so dope man I love how hyped he is he’s saving the planet one step at a time. What a legend
Yeah except the planet doesn't need saving.
@@SpicyTexan64 - Wow, you don't care about the thing.
What a rebel. You're so cool.
I bet the people who care about the thing are SOOOO mad that you don't care about the thing.
I am deeply amazed by the fact that you were given access to create this fence in the first place even if it failed. This only shows how big the problem is and the actual major contributor to the problem.
I've repeated it many times in the past that the ocean cleanup is a cool but novel project. It does not stop the problem at the source which is rivers like this one. Why use a vacuum to clean your house if nobody wipes their feet at door? But this is a good step in the right direction, educate people. Bring the garbage back to the landfill disposal sites to create awareness with the locals.
Hopefully the Ganges and Yangtze (and many other rivers in India and China) will come next as this river isn't even in the top10 most polluted rivers. Sure many rivers in Europe and USA are polluted, but that's mainly industrial waste which is under much more scrutiny these days. You cannot clean it with simple tools, you have to let nature restore itself (mostly) as proven in the Netherlands (we had some pretty stinky waters here 30-40 years ago), but it mainly means no more dumping crap into the water.
Great projects aren't perfect first time, but the Damn engineers underbuilt this, should be multiple fences of different filtration AND OR something can actively separates or kick out of the river.
Progress of some kind
i use a vacuum by virtue of the fact that no one wipes crud before entering.
In 3rd world countries, there simply isn't a sanitary department big enough to provide waste management services for every town and village. So they really have no choice than to dump wherever they can. It's a real shitty situation. Not that they dump in the river, but rain and flash floods bring it to the river. So it would be nice if countries invested more into waste management in the first place.
@@jcmartinez7527 there is no excuse period for this type of thing. None
Love it when you see so many commenters trying to come up with better designs to solve the problem.
Congrats guys! This was very inspiring to watch, you already achieved an amazing thing by stopping that much plastic, and I'm sure you will perfect the system even further!!
Greetings from Chile 🇨🇱
Important construction. Have you consulted dutch water engineers? Erosion can only be stopped by a stone path. Starting with tiny rocks, and build layters of each time bigger rocks. Until the rocks are to heavy for the flow to pick up and the holes in between are to small for the rocks below. Someone else already suggested to make multiple fences (with different size holes). Add this and aswell different heights. so force behind it can never exceed the carry capacity of the wall.
The company is Dutch....
You tried the best. Everybody can be thankful for your effort and great work. Its an insane problem with a massive Power in this flood, which can't be handled perfectly. Be proud and keep it up! Thank you
they tried nothing. a lousy fence... thats it. shame
Dang dawg! Its about time people woke up and take responsibility for all these plastic trash! It’s going to take decades to clean this up! Most importantly awareness and educating people!
Literally awesome, what an incredible thing to try and stop. And what an amazing effort and emotions this guy seems to have invested, Good Luck!
where was the water????? all i saw was trash????
@@iggiewalsh2237 exactly why it was awesome, that river is so polluted it’s more of a slurry than water and trash separate.
@@22FTA looks like the average river these days ngl
@@iggiewalsh2237 in the 3rd world, yeah.
I appreciate what y'all are doing and I hope to see more countries & places adopt this
Yes, really such a good idea to go to watersheds that concentrate garbage on the way to the sea. Of course, with time we can work out trash separation going down with sea life going up, and me snorkeling. But it all takes time.
look at Germany!
deposit bottle system...
most western countrys dont need it
@@ricardomeertens9165
aha!
@@Ida-fz3ir . . . . Ricardo is correct, for the most part, the people of western societies respect the earth. Corporations are the worst polluters, not the people. Guatemala obviously is a society of ignorance. This is from the people, only they can STOP it. Even the most unintelligent life forms do not shit where they sleep, and certainly do not dump it where they forage for food.
That's insane, imagine the oceans full of this
Very well done. You'll get better at it! Don't feel sad about the breach.... that was an overwhelming load and if anything- THE VISUALIZATION of it will help everyone understand how every effort matters 💓