Pacific Ocean Cleanup Barrier Launched

ALAMEDA, CA — A giant floating boom designed to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between California and Hawaii left Alameda on Saturday for its largest trial to date.

The floating barrier, ironically, is made of plastic and has a 10-foot deep screen to trap the garbage yet allow fish to safely swim beneath it. It’s fitted with satellite antennas so that it can communicate its position, allowing support ships to come collect the plastic so it can be transported to land for recycling.

If all goes well, a fleet of 60 systems will be deployed by 2020. The Ocean Cleanup has a goal of removing 50 percent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just five years.

The Ocean Cleanup was founded by Boyan Slat, a 24-year-old from the Netherlands. He told CBS News that he went scuba diving off Greece when he was 16 and saw more plastic than fish. Inspired to make a difference, he began designing his solution. The Ocean Cleanup has raised $35 million including from tech billionaires Marc Benioff and Peter Thiel.

-Image via Shutterstock

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