Plastic pollution in the world's oceans is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time, impacting nearly 700 marine species. Every year, millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans, primarily from rivers. And the plastic that’s afloat within the oceans isn’t going away by itself.

The Ocean Cleanup develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal by taking a two-pronged approach: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean.

In 2013, Boyan Slat (then aged 18) dropped out of his aerospace engineering study to work full-time on this ambitious project. In this candid conversation, Boyan will look back at the successes (and failures) he has encountered on his mission, along with the role technology and innovation can play in solving global problems.