Ocean Cleanup's plastic collecting boom relaunched

After four months of re-design and repairs, the plastic collecting boom fo the Ocean Cleanup project is back on the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A tugboat with the 600 meter long boom departed from the port of Vancouver in Canada late last week, NOS reports.

The U-shaped plastic catcher was first deployed to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in September last year, but it turned out to move too slowly to hold on to the plastic it collected. The constant waves and strong wind also damaged the boom. It therefore had to return for repairs in January.

Inventor and director of the Ocean Cleanup project Boyan Slat announced the relaunch on Twitter on Friday. "Hopefully nature doesn't have too many surprises in store for us this time", the Dutch man said. "Either way, we're set to learn a lot from this campaign."