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Long pipe called 'Wilson' sets sail to clean up trash in the Pacific

A 2,000 foot-long pipe nicknamed "Wilson" is on a mission in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Wilson is the world's first ocean cleanup system.

The U-shaped pipe is floating toward the so-called "great Pacific garbage patch" between San Francisco and Hawaii. It should reach the giant trash pile Tuesday.

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Nets attached to the pipe will trap all of the plastic floating under the water's surface. A garbage boat will collect the trash every couple of months.

The Ocean Cleanup Foundation launched Wilson last month.

The Dutch company hopes the pipe will collect 50 tons of trash by April 2019.

They say it could clean up to 90 percent of the world's ocean plastic by the year 2040.