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Engineers launched a huge garbage plastic collection device floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.
Plastic is what is called the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch". It's the largest waste spread in the world, twice as big as Texas.
The Ocean Cleanup organization has created the collection device. The group founder is Boyan Slat, a 24-year-old Dutch inventor.
Slat was only 16 when he was assigned to cleaning the oceans. He had been on a scuba diving in the Mediterranean Sea and saw more plastic bags than fish. The problem has only grown since then.
"Plastic is really persistent and that does not go away alone and the moment to act is now, "Slat said.
He told the Associated Press that researchers in his organization found plastics from the 1960s and 1970s among the materials of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch". It contains in total about 1.800 billion pieces of plastic. Most float on the surface of the water or are a few meters from the surface.
Last Saturday, a ship pulling the floating barrier shaped pipe left San Francisco for the Garbage Patch. The barrier, called the float, is 600 meters in diameter. Attached to this is a screening skirt who weighs three meters in the water.
The screen is designed to collect the plastic when it moves in the water. Marine animals can swim safely under the barrier.
The cleaning system is also provided with solar powered lights, cameras and other special devices. Slat said that would allow the system to communicate its position at any time. In this way, a support vessel can find it every few months to remove the plastic that it has collected.
Shipping containers will contain all collected plastic, including bottles and fishing equipment. Slat said the containers should be put back on land a year from now. So the plastic will be recycled.
Slat and his team will look closely at the use of time and energy by the system. They will also study how it works in harsh ocean conditions, including huge waves.
"We still have to prove the technology," he said.
The Ocean Cleanup received $ 35 million in donations to fund the project, including business leaders like Salesforce.com and PayPal. The organization hopes to launch 60 floating gates in the Pacific Ocean by 2020.
"One of our goals is to remove 50% of the Grand Pacific garbage area in five years," said Slat.
Floating barriers are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and damage caused by continuous use. They will stay in the water for twenty years and at that point will collect 90% of the waste in the patch, Slat added.
George Leonard is the chief scientist of the Ocean Conservancy, a group of environmental non-profit activists. He worried about the cleaning project. He said that even if plastic garbage could be removed from the oceans, there would be even more each year.
"We at the Ocean Conservancy are very skeptical but we hope it works, "he said. "The ocean needs all possible help."
Leonard said that 8 million tons of plastic waste went into the ocean each year. He said that a solution to the problem was to include preventing the plastic from reaching the ocean. He added that education is needed for people to reduce the use of single-use plastic containers and bottles.
Leonard said his group will organize its annual cleanup of the international coastline on September 15th. About 1 million volunteers around the world will collect garbage from beaches and water courses. Last year, Ocean Conservancy volunteers collected about 9,000 tons of plastic around the world in about two hours, he said.
Leonard also raised concerns that animals could be captured by the net that hang under the surface.
But Boyan Slat said that he did not think that would happen. The system will act as a "big still boat in the water," with nothing for sea creatures, Slat said. But a boat carrying experienced marine biologists will also be launched to make sure the device does not harm the wildlife.
"I am the first to recognize this has never been done before and that it's important to pick up the plastic on the ground and closes the taps on the plastic entering the ocean, but I also think that humanity can do more than one thing at a time for tackle this problem, "said Slat.
I am Anna Matteo. And I'm Pete Musto.
Olga R. Rodriguez reported this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the publisher. We want your news. What effect do you think this system will have on the Pacific Ocean? Write to us in the Comments section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in this story
garbage – not. things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown away
founder – not. a person who creates or establishes something that is supposed to last a long time, such as a business or school
scuba diving – not. a sport or activity in which you swim under water using an air tank and a special breathing apparatus that you attach to your body
persistent – adj. continue to do something or try to do something even if it is difficult or that other people want you to stop
screen(ing) – v. to prevent something dangerous from happening
skirt – not. an outer covering that hangs to protect something
to recycle(re) – v. to send used materials to a place where they are transformed into something new
skeptical – adj. have or express doubts or uncertainties about something such as a claim or statement
recognize – v. to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or the existence of
closes the tap(s) – idm. stop something
tackle – v. to face something difficult
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