The Ocean Cleanup has the technology to get rid of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Netherlands-based nonprofit environmental organization the Ocean Cleanup claims it now has the technology that can help remove the 79,000-metric-ton Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) within ten years - by 2034.

The organization says in a press release that “ocean plastic pollution is one of the most urgent problems our oceans face today, costing the world up to $2.5 trillion per year in damage to economies, industries, and the environment.”

The technology developed by The Ocean Cleanup, System-03, consists of a floating barrier about 2.3 kilometers long, which is towed between two vessels.

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So far, the organization has fished out a million pounds of trash from the patch, or just 0.5 percent of its total.

All it needs is money. The operation to eliminate the floating garbage from an area twice the size as Texas would cost a whopping $7.5 billion and contributors are welcome.

The Ocean Cleanup’s data and modelling indicate that the removal of the GPGP could be achieved in 5 years at a lower cost - $4 billion – perhaps if others join the operation, as researchers discovered that the patch has been rapidly growing and could soon become too big to handle. Now it covers 1.6 million square kilometers.

While it does not point out to any parties liable for contribution, The Ocean Cleanup reminds that in the United States as much as $10.6 billion is spent annually on Halloween decorations alone. The annual profits of the world’s plastic producers amount to $7.2 billion.

"We call upon the world to relegate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the history books. This environmental catastrophe has been allowed to exist, unresolved, for too long, and for the first time, we can tell the world what it costs, what is needed and how long it could take. It is time for action,” the organization said.

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