--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We might work on ways to prevent plastic…" description: "\"We might work on ways to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place.\" — Boyan Slat" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/boyan-slat-8602_first_we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic_1789668.jpg" --- # We might work on ways to prevent plastic getting into the… ![“We might work on ways to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place.” quote by Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/boyan-slat-8602_first_we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic_1789668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/boyan-slat-8602_first_we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic_1789668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/boyan-slat-8602_first_we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic_1789668.jpg) > “We might work on ways to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place.” [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preventing plastic pollution should begin with proactive measures before it reaches the ocean. **In simple terms:** Stop plastic from entering oceans early. Key Takeaway Implement preventive solutions. Themes environment pollution plastic prevention Mood concerned hopeful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - beach cleanups - product redesign - legislation Key Concepts sustainability engineering policy Questions to Reflect On - What barriers exist? - How can you incentivize change? A Different Perspective Prevention may be costly or technically challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Getting Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-ocean-1934241/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place/) [Plastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plastic/) [Plastic Getting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plastic-getting-1934240/) [Prevent Plastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevent-plastic-1315505/) [Ways Prevent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-prevent-231580/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [There are already dozens of organizations working on trying to prevent plastic from going into the ocean, through advocacy, education, awareness, all great work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/there-are-already-dozens-of-organizations-working-on-trying-to/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [There was no direct way to prevent the Boston murders. There are some easy ways to prevent likely future ones: by not inciting them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-was-no-direct-way-to-prevent-the-boston-murders-there-are-some/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We're starting with the North Pacific gyre simply because it is the largest accumulation of plastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-re-starting-with-the-north-pacific-gyre-simply-because-it-is-the/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [Everyone said to me: 'Oh there's nothing you can do about plastic once it gets into the oceans,' and I wondered whether that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/everyone-said-to-me-oh-there-s-nothing-you-can-do-about-plastic-once/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [What humans aren't good at is trying to consume less, to consume less plastic, to not be lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/what-humans-aren-t-good-at-is-trying-to-consume-less-to-consume-less/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [The worst is yet to come, because all the plastic that is already out there is going to become more hazardous if we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/the-worst-is-yet-to-come-because-all-the-plastic-that-is-already-out/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [The way the clean-up system works is that we let the plastic come to us, using the ocean currents in our advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/the-way-the-clean-up-system-works-is-that-we-let-the-plastic-come-to/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [It's nice there is a cleanup system, but if it doesn't collect any plastic, it's not very useful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/it-s-nice-there-is-a-cleanup-system-but-if-it-doesn-t-collect-any/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [Look at climate change. That's a bigger problem than plastic, but we can't all focus on that and forget about plastic - that isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/look-at-climate-change-that-s-a-bigger-problem-than-plastic-but-we/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [For 60 years man has been putting plastic into the ocean. And from that day onward we're also taking it back out again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/for-60-years-man-has-been-putting-plastic-into-the-ocean-and-from/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [Star Trek' is the McDonald's of science fiction; it's fast food storytelling. Every problem is like every other problem. They all get solved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gerrold/star-trek-is-the-mcdonald-s-of-science-fiction-it-s-fast-food/) [David Gerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gerrold/) > [Ugster vinyl pumps, Partridge Family records, plastic daisy jewelry, old postcards. . . . It's a magpie Christmas market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/ugster-vinyl-pumps-partridge-family-records-plastic-daisy-jewelry-old/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [It doesn't matter to me where Barack Obama goes. If he wants to go to Hawaii because it's his home state, fine! Hunky-dory. Plastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-doesn-t-matter-to-me-where-barack-obama-goes-if-he-wants-to-go-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I wouldn't want to play a normal princess who always walks around in nice dresses. I never had a connection to it when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-wouldn-t-want-to-play-a-normal-princess-who-always-walks-around-in/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [When I was 3, my parents strapped on a pair of Playskool plastic roller skates to my feet, and that's where the story begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-celski/when-i-was-3-my-parents-strapped-on-a-pair-of-playskool-plastic/) [J. R. Celski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-celski/) ## More by Boyan Slat > [Musk is very inspiring to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/musk-is-very-inspiring-to-me/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [I think humanity can do more than one thing at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/i-think-humanity-can-do-more-than-one-thing-at-the-same-time/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [Whenever you start working on something, you have to go about it with the underlying assumption that this puzzle has a solution, right? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/whenever-you-start-working-on-something-you-have-to-go-about-it-with/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [For 60 years man has been putting plastic into the ocean. And from that day onward we're also taking it back out again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/for-60-years-man-has-been-putting-plastic-into-the-ocean-and-from/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [We started solely concentrating on cleaning up the Garbage Patch because we felt it was the most neglected part of the spectrum of solutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-started-solely-concentrating-on-cleaning-up-the-garbage-patch/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [We use a curtain, so we don't use a net, so there's nothing sea life can get entangled with. And also, the system moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-use-a-curtain-so-we-don-t-use-a-net-so-there-s-nothing-sea-life/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [When ideas are confronted with reality, there will always be surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/when-ideas-are-confronted-with-reality-there-will-always-be-surprises/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [When I started there was this consensus that you could never clean this up, that the problem is way too big, the ocean is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/when-i-started-there-was-this-consensus-that-you-could-never-clean/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [I think people overestimate the risk of high-risk projects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/i-think-people-overestimate-the-risk-of-high-risk-projects/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [The legacy, the waste, is mostly in international waters that are sort of in no man's land and thus considered to be no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/the-legacy-the-waste-is-mostly-in-international-waters-that-are-sort/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [I do enjoy being at the ocean, like most people, but not so much being on the ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/i-do-enjoy-being-at-the-ocean-like-most-people-but-not-so-much-being/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [It's important to stay humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/it-s-important-to-stay-humble/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [It's never really fun to be in the public spotlight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/it-s-never-really-fun-to-be-in-the-public-spotlight/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [I would never be able to work on a photo-sharing app or 'Internet startup XYZ.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/i-would-never-be-able-to-work-on-a-photo-sharing-app-or-internet/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [Look at climate change. That's a bigger problem than plastic, but we can't all focus on that and forget about plastic - that isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/look-at-climate-change-that-s-a-bigger-problem-than-plastic-but-we/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) [Explore all 79 Boyan Slat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) ## More First quotes > [Life is going to hit you some line drives, and sometimes you'll have to think fast. However, it's better to think first than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/life-is-going-to-hit-you-some-line-drives-and-sometimes-you-ll-have/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [I watched the movie 'What We Do in the Shadows' in a packed theater when it first came out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-dacosta/i-watched-the-movie-what-we-do-in-the-shadows-in-a-packed-theater/) [Nia DaCosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-dacosta/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Our fashion for us, it's an expression; first of all of life, I put all of myself in my fashion. Sometimes it's good, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/our-fashion-for-us-it-s-an-expression-first-of-all-of-life-i-put-all/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ward/when-i-first-started-making-music-it-was-learning-other-people-s/) [M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ward/) > [Oh, I'm a great believer in the power of the pause. Radio is a bit brasher now. My style was slower. I just used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/oh-i-m-a-great-believer-in-the-power-of-the-pause-radio-is-a-bit/) [Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. She would cut the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donatella-versace/i-have-to-say-i-grew-up-with-fashion-because-my-mother-was-a/) [Donatella Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donatella-versace/) > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I try to have something in common with my protagonists, especially when I'm writing in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-have-something-in-common-with-my-protagonists-especially/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/the-first-draft-is-usually-junk-you-have-to-work-on-it-seven-to-eight/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [I first got into boxing when I was quite young. I was about 12 when I won my first boxing match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parker/i-first-got-into-boxing-when-i-was-quite-young-i-was-about-12-when-i/) [Joseph Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parker/) [Browse all 9,159 First quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We might work on ways to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Boyan Slat" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic-getting-into-the-ocean-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic-getting-into-the-ocean-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/boyan-slat-8602_first_we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic_1789668.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/boyan-slat-8602_first_we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic_1789668.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/boyan-slat-8602_first_we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic_1789668.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We might work on ways to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place.” — Boyan Slat", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Boyan Slat", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We might work on ways to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic-getting-into-the-ocean-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/we-might-work-on-ways-to-prevent-plastic-getting-into-the-ocean-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```