Recent trials carried out to test the technology used by Ocean Cleanup to rid the oceans of plastic have been successful, the project’s organisers have said.

The system, developed by Dutch eco-entrepreneur Boyan Slat, consists of two giant arms which sweep the ocean surface trapping the plastic waste which can then be removed.

Some 28,659 kilos of waste were successfully removed by the plastic catcher during the nine trials, testifying to the viability of the method, Slat said.

‘This is the tip of the iceberg, of course, but these were, in a way, the most important kilos of plastic we have removed because they are proof the technology works.’

Toilet seats, toothbrushes, laundry baskets, shoes, crates, sleds, and, discarded fishing gear were just some of the items gathered up by the system, proving, organisers said, that this is not just a problem for the ocean, but a problem caused by humanity.

Slat thanked his team for ‘remaining focused’ as the project hit various snags during its development but said that the real work of cleaning up the huge plastic soup that is threatening the marine environment of the Pacific Ocean could now begin.

Some 1,800 billion pieces of plastic and other waste products make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which covers an area three times the size of France. There are four more similar concentrations of waste in other oceans with a combined weight of another 80 million kilos.

Efforts to stop plastic from entering the ocean via rivers will continue with new Interceptor projects planned to begin this year and next, the organisation said. Slat is also working on a new prototype of the plastic catcher with even longer arms.    .