( CNN ) -- BP officials have turned to a new source for help with their oil cleanup efforts : actor Kevin Costner . The oil giant announced Monday that it had ordered 32 machines from Costner 's company , the actor told CNN in an exclusive interview on `` AC360 . '' The machines use a centrifuge mechanism to separate oil from water and recycle the crude at the same time , Costner said . `` This is the key , it 's the linchpin to people going back to work . It 's certainly a way to fight oil spills in the 21st century , '' he said . `` It creates an efficiency where there are no efficiencies out there , and it 's been a long time coming . '' Costner said he had been working on developing the machine since 1992 or 1993 with the help of his brother , a scientist . Each machine weighs about 4,000 pounds , he said , and will allow crews to collect more oil . `` Skimmers are picking up 90 percent water , 10 percent oil , and they throw it into a barge ... What this machine simply does , in that particular case , will give a pure payload . Suddenly a barge will be coming back to shore with 99 percent oil as opposed to the other way around , '' he said . Got an idea to fix the oil disaster ? Share solutions and views . Costner described the machine to a congressional committee last week . `` It may seem an unlikely scenario that I 'm the one delivering this technology at this moment in time , but from where I 'm sitting , it is equally inconceivable that these machines are not already in place , '' he said . CNN 's Anderson Cooper contributed to this report .
Actor Kevin Bacon says BP has ordered 32 of his company 's oil cleanup trucks . He began developing machine with brother in early ' 90s . They use machinery to separate oil from water , recycle crude .