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04 May 2017

Norwegian billionaire funds ship to remove plastic from the ocean

Caxton Central (Northglen News)

 

In partnership with the World Wildlife Fund he will be joining Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Mark Zuckerberg in this venture.

A self-made Norwegian billionaire has promised to use a large part of his fortune to fund a research ship that will remove plastic from the ocean.

Kjell Inge Roekke, a former fisherman who made his fortune in the oil industry, will join Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Mark Zuckerberg in this venture in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Roekke said: “I want to give back to society the bulk of what I’ve earned. This ship is a part of that.”

The research ship will host a crew of 30, laboratories and up to 60 scientists.

It will remove about five tons of plastic a day from the ocean and melt it.

Extreme plastic pollution in the ocean

 

Nina Jensen of the WWF said she was “far apart” from Roekke’s views on oil exploration and would “continue to challenge him when we disagree”, but she was excited about the ship project.

“The dream is to find a way of solving the great challenges of the sea, such as extreme plastic pollution.”

 

Online article