-Source-Time-
A 2,000 foot-long floating pipe connected to an enormous net arrived Tuesday at its destination in the Pacific Ocean to begin cleaning up garbage.
Dutch environmental start-up Ocean Cleanup Foundation launched the apparatus from San Francisco last month, CNN reports. It is expected to soon begin work clearing plastics and other debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest of five giant oceanic trash piles, located between California and Hawaii.
The U-shaped pipe is connected to a 3-meter-deep net to help trap litter. It is also remote controlled, according to CNN, and equipped with GPS-enabled buoys and satellite receptors to communicate with nearby boats.
A garbage hauling boat will make repeated trips between the pipe and shore every few months to remove the accumulated plastic, which Ocean Cleanup reportedly hopes to recycle.
Earlier this month, Ocean Cleanup conducted a final series of trials to ensure that the system could be properly deployed in the Pacific Ocean and adapt to changing water and wind currents.
“The coming months will give System 001 plenty of opportunities to prove itself and we are hopeful that it will continue to pass the tests,” the company said in a statement. Read more