The 24-year-old Dutch inventor behind the project, called The Ocean Cleanup, is hoping the boom will corral the plastic litter.
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The system will travel 240 nautical miles offshore for a two-week trial before continuing its journey further into the Pacific, The Ocean Cleanup said.
"We love the marine life, so we want to save them from the harmful plastic that is out there. So all of the design that we've done is with that in mind," said Lonneke Holierhoek, The Ocean Cleanup's COO.
The organization believes the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is made up of 80,000 tons of plastic garbage, can be cut in half.