ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A device for removing plastic waste from the ocean is about to head for the Pacific.

Its mission is to collect the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic rubbish amassed by the tides in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which lies between California and Hawaii.

The apparatus comprises huge floating nets held in place by giant tubes that suck stubborn waste out of the water. The debris is then transferred to large ships to be taken to shore for recycling.

The device will launch from San Francisco Bay within the next few weeks to begin the clean-up operation by July. The Ocean Cleanup is the brainchild of Dutch teen prodigy Boyan Slat who dropped out of university to pursue his venture, raising $2.2million from crowdfunding to do so. He has since been backed by other investors and the not-for-profit organisation eventually aims to install 60 giant floating scoops.

"The clean-up of the world's oceans is just around the corner," said Slat. " I am confident that with our expert partners we will succeed in our mission."

Fish will escape the screens by passing beneath them and Ocean Cleanup will send boats to collect the waste every six to eight weeks.

Ocean currents have helped to create the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which spans 617,763 sq miles and is bigger than France, Germany and Spain combined. According to recent research it contains at least 79,000 tons of plastic, most of it made up of "ghost gear" which consists of old fishing gear, nets and ropes.

Ghost gear is responsible for killing more than 100,000 whales, dolphins and seals each year by strangulation or mutilation, according to scientists.