6 gadgets that clean the world's oceans

By Cat DiStasio

In grade school, most children learn about the fragility of our ocean ecosystems. Despite this, the world's vast waters have become a de facto dumping ground for toxic chemicals, agricultural runoff and plastic trash. With ocean pollution at an all-time high, the question of how to turn it around weighs heavily on the minds of many environmentalists and engineers. So far they've come up with everything from oil-cleaning magic wands to massive floating cleanup arrays, but it's a race to see which method will most effectively reverse the damage humans have wrought. Which of these amazing gadgets do you think has the best shot at cleaning up our oceans?

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The floating, water-filtering Seabin

If you've ever been in a swimming pool, the Seabin might seem familiar. It's a round, floating device that filters out foreign objects from the water as it bobs around. The Seabin looks a lot like a trash can you'd see on land, except that it floats mostly underwater, allowing water (and debris) to wash into its wide opening. Trash gets caught inside, while the water passes through the bin and recirculates. It can't clean up the entire ocean, though: The Seabin is intended for use in marinas and other smaller bodies of water.