The teen who claims that his invention will save the world's oceans

A Dutch teenager has invented a device that he claims could clean up some 20 billion tons of plastic waste from the world's oceans. 

Boyan Slat, 19, came up with the idea of a series of floating booms and processing platforms designed to collect floating plastic rubbish. The "ocean cleanup" concept is designed to capture the floating plastic, but allow fish and plankton to pass through unharmed, while saving the waste materials to be recycled.

While the young inventor believes humans must end their reliance on disposable plastic items and manage waste responsibly, his innovation could make a big difference to the cleanliness of oceans in the shorter-term. 

Mr. Slat is now a student at the Delft University of Technology. He came up with the idea while at school and won a number of prizes and the respect of marine experts.