Creative Uses for Gyre Trash

By Leslie Moyer on June 30, 2010

Swedish home appliance manufacturer Electrolux has found a use for the plastic trash that proliferates our oceans. The new Vac from the Sea project aims to cull plastic from several collection zones and create "concept" vacuum cleaners to bring attention to the colossal marine pollution problem.

While we may have doubts as to the viability of this idea as a way to utilize the plastic trash to create a sustainable product or to "clean up" the gyres (an endeavor which has proven to be inexecutable at best, and dangerously misleading to the public as well as overly conciliatory to the plastics industry at worst), we have to give them kudos for creative problem-solving -- they are helping to raise awareness of one of the biggest environmental threats of our time.

Nice work, Electrolux.