Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Ocean Kickstarter of the Month: Control ocean plastic with BioBooms

Posted on January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

On January 1, 2016, the Southern Fried Science central server began uploading blog posts apparently circa 2041. Due to a related corruption of the contemporary database, we are, at this time, unable to remove these Field Notes from the Future or prevent the uploading of additional posts. Please enjoy this glimpse into the ocean future while we attempt to rectify the situation.


“Two thirds of “collected” ocean plastic end up back in the ocean. Why scoop it when microbes can poop it?”

BioBooms: Eat the plastic out of our oceans, one trawl at a time.

broken

We’ve seen nearly 3 decades of ill-conceived ocean cleanup projects, and we’re still dealing with many of the same issues that arose when the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was first discovered. Adding insult to injury, a recent study revealed that almost 70% of all garbage collected during these ocean cleanup operation has ended up back in the ocean thanks to poor downstream control and a limited understanding of the plastic lifecycle on the part of these programs. Indeed, without longitudinal support, these plastic sucking boondoggles tend to be all flash and no pan. The point-source operations, like Waterwheel Global, have fared much better, but still do nothing for the plastic that is already out there. 

BioBooms has the potential to change that. Using a proprietary plastic consuming microbe, the BioBooms team hopes to break down ocean plastic in situ, converting photodegraded plastics into fuel that will then be used to power their ships.

BioBooms: Eat the plastic out of our oceans, one trawl at a time.

Onwards to the Ocean Kickstarter Criteria!

  1. Is it sound, reasonable, and informed by science? CRISPR-CRASS-based genetic engineering has been tried and tested for almost 20 years. By all reports, they’ve already developed their microbes and have completed early field trials. The BioBoom team is new to genetic engineering, but they have a solid base in oceanography and the right partners to pull this off.
  1. Is there a clear goal, timeline, and budget; and are they partnering with the people who have experience hitting those marks? Their budget and schedule are ambitious, but doable. I’d be surprised if they didn’t overshoot their timeline by several months, but that is by no means a deal breaker. I doubt they’ll finish field trials on time with such a relatively small budget–ocean work is either expensive or time-consuming, and with their budget, I know which side they’ll fall on. They are partnering with the right teams to finish bio-development and have the at-sea experience in-house.
  1. Do some of the parties involved have a successful record with other crowdfunding projects and experience delivering on rewards. This team is a hodgepodge of leaders in the ocean plastic world. Some of them have successfully funded and delivered other ocean cleaning projects. Some have successfully funded and later failed to deliver on projects. There’s a lot of ocean plastics experience here and a good bit of crowdfunding experience. These aren’t starry-eyed tweens.

The Sea Factor: You know, we’ve been backing ocean plastic projects since the very beginning of this series. It’s still one of the most pressing ocean issues of our era and I continue to throw my support behind the projects with the highest chance of success.

Past Updates: New Year, fresh list! All past recommendations have been funded or closed. Currently, Southern Fried Science recommendations enjoy an 83% success rate with a 76% ship-within-3-months-of-promised-shipping-date rate.


On January 1, 2016, the Southern Fried Science central server began uploading blog posts apparently circa 2041. Due to a related corruption of the contemporary database, we are, at this time, unable to remove these Field Notes from the Future or prevent the uploading of additional posts. Please enjoy this glimpse into the ocean future while we attempt to rectify the situation.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: Kickstarter plastic

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Southern Fried Server Error: Please Stand By
Next Post: Twenty Years Later, the Identity of Johnny Milkweedseed Finally Revealed ❯

You may also like

Weekly Salvage
Gently jelly-nabbing bots, deep-coral under threat, albino stingrays, #JacquesWeek, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 23, 2018
July 23, 2018
Education
Ocean Kickstarter of the Month: Meet Norman the Nurse Shark
October 6, 2015
Weekly Salvage
Everything about hagfish is the best thing about hagfish, the battle for the deep-sea heats up, parasitic butt snails, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: December 17, 2017
December 18, 2017
Weekly Salvage
The fate of the deep sea is being decided behind closed doors, plastic in the deepest trench, memories of whales, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: March 4, 2019
March 4, 2019

Recent Popular Posts

It's 2025. Why do so many scientific journal articles still display weird when shared on social media?It's 2025. Why do so many scientific journal articles still display weird when shared on social media?May 20, 2025David Shiffman
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)September 7, 2010Andrew Thaler
Alberta, Canada is the proud owner of the largest man-made pyramid on the planetAlberta, Canada is the proud owner of the largest man-made pyramid on the planetOctober 16, 2012Andrew Thaler
Deep-sea Mining: It’s science fiction, until it isn’t.Deep-sea Mining: It’s science fiction, until it isn’t.May 14, 2025Andrew Thaler
Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationHere's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationApril 10, 2024David Shiffman
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
A quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyA quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyFebruary 7, 2024Andrew Thaler
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.June 21, 2021Andrew Thaler
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown