Ship tows plastic clean-up system out of San Francisco Bay to Pacific Ocean

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Sky7 flew over San Francisco Bay as a large, nearly 2,000-foot boom made its way to the Pacific Ocean on Saturday. The boom is part of a first of its kind system that aims to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive cluster of plastic floating between California and Hawaii.

The 24-year-old Dutch inventor behind the project, called The Ocean Cleanup, is hoping the boom will corral the plastic litter.

RELATED: Watch our interview with The Ocean Cleanup's founder Boyan Slat

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.