Sustainability experts have questioned the validity of The Ocean Cleanup, an initiative designed to scoop plastic waste from the Pacific Ocean.
"I'm not saying it's a hoax; rather [it's] a dream that seduced many people and donors," said Italian environmentalist and TV presenter Cristina Gabetti. "And we all fell for it."
"The science community is sceptical," she added.
Architect and plastic recycling expert Arthur Huang told Dezeen that The Ocean Cleanup "cannot be a plausible solution" to removing ocean plastic.
He added that the media attention lavished on the project has drawn attention away from more viable attempts to stop plastic getting into the ocean in the first place. He described The Ocean Cleanup as "very bad for many real solutions worldwide". System failed because it moved too slowly
The Ocean Cleanup aims eventually to remove 90 per cent of plastic waste from the world's oceans using giant U-shaped floating rigs. The non-profit organisation has raised $30 million in funding.
Doubts about the project emerged as the organisation published published an analysis of why its first rig failed at the start of this year.
In addition to a structural failure of its tubular plastic boom, it found that in some conditions the floating rig moved slower than the plastic it was trying to capture, meaning that items it had collected floated back out into the open sea.
"For the system to effectively retain plastic, it must...