A massive net is being deployed to pick up plastic in the Pacific

Critics are skeptical the project will do much good

computer rendering of Ocean Cleanup system

BIG SCOOP   A computer rendering depicts the entire 600-meter-long Ocean Cleanup system floating in the North Pacific, as currents push the edges of the boom to form a u-shape. The system is designed to scoop bits of plastic for later collection and removal by support vessels.

The Ocean Cleanup

The days of the great Pacific garbage patch may be numbered.