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plastic is everywhere in our waters, our air , our foods, even in our bodies.

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Make a GivingTuesday gift by midnight on November 28, and it will be matched. Your critical support makes our work possible to advocate for air, soil, and water that is free of plastic pollution.

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Get the latest facts about plastic pollution and its impact on human health, social justice, environmental, climate, and wildlife.

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garbage hear garbage there garbage everywhere 

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all this plastic got there because of all of the people in our planet that litters and that uses plastic

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there has been way too much plastic lately 

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there has been way too much plastic lately 

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about three times the size of France and weighs as much as 43,000 cars

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Plastic Planet is a series on the global plastics crisis that evaluates the environmental and human costs and considers possible solutions to this devastating man-made problem.

Since the early 1950s, there has been an estimated 8.3 billion tons - and counting - of plastic produced on the planet, according to a 2017 study published in the Science Advances journal. The United Nations Environment Program reports that roughly 60% of that lump sum has made its way to landfills or the ocean. Each year, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the ocean, according to the advocacy group Ocean Conservancy. Some calculations predict that there could be more plastic by weight in the ocean than fish by 2050.

The situation is so dire that the ocean is already home to five notable trash vortexes, more commonly known as garbage patches: the North Atlantic Gyre, the South Atlantic Gyre, the South Pacific Gyre, the Indian Ocean Gyre, and the North Pacific Gyre. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located in the North Pacific Gyre between California and Hawaii, is the most notorious as it is the largest of the five, with an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of trash. For measure, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is three times the size of France and weighs as much as 43,000 cars. And according to experts, it is growing "exponentially."

The fundamental issue with plastic is that it's largely not biodegradable. This means it cannot be broken down into reusable compounds. Instead, it degrades over time into smaller particles also known as microplastics, which are defined as pieces that are five millimeters in length or less, according to the National Ocean Service. While these tiny particles aren't floating at the top of the ocean, they pose a threat: Aside from contaminating the waters, plastic in the ocean injures and kills marine animals - collectively, it has impacted at least 800 species worldwide. Humans are impacted as well, as microplastics make their way into our food through seafood, water, and sea salt. Unfortunately, little is known about the scale of the problem since research is in its preliminary stages.

Some nations carry a larger burden of the blame than others. According to a 2015 study published in Science Advances, the top six countries for ocean garbage are China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. But other nations are not necessarily free from blame. The same study found that the United States, for example, contributes as much as 242 million pounds of plastic trash to the ocean every year.

Tackling the man-made environmental disaster - both cleaning up the existing plastic pollution in the ocean and preventing further damage - is not easy. "It is not as simple as going out there and just scooping up these floating islands of trash," Nick Mallos, the director of Ocean Conservancy's Trash Free Seas program, tells Teen Vogue.

Currently, a nearly 2,000-foot-long floater, essentially a floating trash collector, has made its way to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to take a stab at tackling the existing problem - it's the brainchild of 24-year-old Boyan Slat, who conceived the idea for his contraption in 2013 and started the Ocean Cleanup. Slat's device, a high-density polyethylene pipe, travels with the wind, waves, and storms and sweeps up plastic along the way. It also includes a 10-foot-long impermeable underwater skirt that picks up plastic that isn't on the surface. The plastic will then be removed from the water and taken by boat to shore, where it will be processed for recycling.

The first step of the Netherlands-based organization is to collect the larger floating plastic objects before approaching the smaller pieces. Within five years, the Ocean Cleanup hopes to remove half of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Now, weeks in, Business Insider has reported things don't appear to be going as they should be: The garbage collected by the device is drifting into sea instead of staying trapped. "Although we are not harvesting plastic yet, based on the current results, we are positive we are close to making it work," wrote Slat in an update in November, adding that his team believes "the first solution [they] will attempt could potentially remediate both of these causes."

A spokesperson for the Ocean Cleanup told Teen Vogue that Boyan and the rest of the team are "highly confident" that finding a solution is just "a matter of time," noting that all other aspects of the system - surviving rough weather and not harming marine life - are working well aside from not being able to keep the trapped plastic. "These kinds of issues are certainly something that they anticipated," said the spokesperson. "Expecting the unexpected is inherent to the process when you move from modeling and testing to reality. It also stresses the importance of going out there because reality is the ultimate test for the beta system."

Elsewhere, U.K.-based the Plastic Tide, founded by Peter Kohler, uses drone-mounted cameras, machine learning, and citizen science to take aerial photos and train a "machine-learning" algorithm to recognize plastic trash. The idea would be to track the existing plastic and the spread of plastic to home in on where to prioritize cleanup efforts.

Another element is reducing the amount of plastic that gets into the ocean going forward: In 2015, Reuters reported that research was released based on data from 2010, showing that more than 8 million tons of plastic go from land to the ocean each year.

Emma Tonge, a communications and outreach specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program, tells Teen Vogue that "prevention is the key to solving the marine debris problem over time." She uses the analogy of an overflowing sink: You can't fix the buildup without turning off the faucet. For marine debris, cleaning up nearshore and coastline regions is akin to turning off the faucets.

"Shorelines and coastal areas are easy to access, and we try to get these debris items before they have the chance to get to the ocean," says Tonge, whose program's main focus is prevention.

Ocean Conservancy's Trash Free Seas program organizes an international coastal cleanup that it says is the world's largest volunteer effort and works with businesses and individuals to implement change in practices and behaviors that impact ocean health. The Ocean Conservancy also has a mobile app - called Clean Swell - that allows individuals to record each item of trash they collect, which is later used by scientists and policymakers. While cleanups won't solve the marine plastic debris problem, it makes a difference. Mallos says it is a "Band-Aid, not a cure," but says cleanups have an "immediate and direct impact."

Encouraging corporations to use less plastic is one way to reduce the odds of plastic debris: Putting less plastic on shelves means less is purchased, consumed, and discarded.

"Corporations that either make plastic - the actual material - or make products that use plastic in their packaging have a very big responsibility in this problem," Mallos says. "There are some products out there, like plastic bags and expanded polystyrene food and beverage packaging - these are materials and types of products that simply no longer have a place in our economy. They pose a very severe risk to the marine environment when they leak into the ocean. And we know that there are suitable alternatives for these products that deliver the same utility and functionality as these products."

A 2018 brand audit conducted by environmental activist group Break Free From Plastic of more than 187,000 pieces of plastic trash across 239 cleanups spanning 42 countries shed light onto potential offenders. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé were the most frequent multinational brands collected in cleanups. A PepsiCo spokesperson told Teen Vogue the company is "committed to achieving 100% recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable packaging by 2025" and strives to "use 25% recycled plastic content in [their] plastic packaging by that same year." Coca-Cola told Teen Vogue it has placed "ambitious goals" for the company's World Without Waste vision: It aims to "collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one [they] sell - regardless of where it comes from - by 2030" and "use an average of 50% recycled content in our bottles and cans by 2030." Teen Vogue has reached out to Nestlé and will update once we hear back.

Some significant progress is also being made by other companies. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a U.K.-based environmental charity, launched a campaign to get corporations on board with accountability. So far, more than 250 organizations - including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever, H&M, S.C. Johnson, and L'Oréal - have pledged to eradicate plastic waste within seven years. These organizations have pledged to reuse, recycle, or compost 100% of their plastic packaging by 2025.

Mallos also spotlights two other areas that need work. One is creating appropriate waste collecting and recycling infrastructure for existing plastic goods in the market to guarantee responsible disposal. The other is to look at innovative materials that can replace some of the most problematic forms of plastic that currently exist. "Corporations have a very important role in supporting and catalyzing investment and innovation in many of those fronts," Mallos says.

And then there is consumer accountability. A recent wave of consumer activism has led to the widespread ban of straws, which are especially problematic since they cannot be recycled. A noble endeavor, no doubt, but according to a Bloomberg Opinion essay, straws only account for 0.03% of total plastic waste. To truly fight ocean plastic pollution, a broader approach is needed.

Mallos says individuals can help in three ways. One is to reevaluate our daily plastic waste footprint and make decisions to reuse things like plastic bags and water bottles. Second is to send a message with your purchasing power: Watch what you buy so corporations take into account consumer preference and purchasing habits. Lastly, advocate for smart policy - like plastic bag bans - that "deliver locally appropriate solutions."

The Ocean Conservancy's 2018 Coastal Cleanup Report gathered data from beach cleanups across the globe to identify common trash items: cigarette butts, food wrappers, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic grocery bags, other plastic bags, straws and stirrers, plastic takeout containers, plastic lids, and foam takeout containers. "For the first time ever, all of the top 10 items found globally were made of plastic," Mallos says. "We know that globally, plastic production is increasing. What we're seeing now on the beaches is a manifestation of that production.

"This is a global, complex issue. And everyone has a role to play. That ranges from us as individuals all the way up to governments and corporations," Mallos says.

"No matter who you are, you're connected to the ocean. No matter where you live, you're connected to the ocean," Tonge says. "Everyone can really have a part to play, no matter how small or large that part is."
For more information on the global plastics crisis, read the rest of the Plastic Planet series.

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You Can't Just "Clean Up" the Plastic in the Ocean. Here's Why.

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In this Plastic Planet reported feature, we explain why ocean cleanup isn't the best approach to combat the global plastics crisis.

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if we won't stop plastic, it's gonna take over 

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if we won't stop plastic, it's gonna take over 

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By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans

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Plastic Oceans
There are increasing high levels of man-made pollution in many of the world's seas and little actually disappears. By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans.
We live on a blue planet; the world's oceans cover three quarters of the Earth. They contain 97% of the Earth's water and are currently absorbing around a third of the CO2 being produced by our activities and so helping in part by acting a buffer for some of the impacts of climate change. (30 to 40% of the carbon dioxide from human activity released into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans, resulting in the creation of carbonic acid.) Ocean acidification is therefore a rising concern. The average pH balance is dropping and as a result the growth of calcifying organisms such as corals and shellfish is being reduced. Acidification alone, though, is not the only pollution problem faced by the world's seas, and others are escalating at an even faster rate. The impacts and implications are huge and growing.

Around 80% of marine pollution comes from land-based activities. Waste runs or is dumped into drains and rivers and hence the seas. Oil, fertilisers, sewage, plastics and toxic chemicals are all part of the mix. Oil spills are less frequent but in many countries without an established recycling system, used oil is thrown down the drain or poured directly into rivers. Nutrients in fertiliser runoff from farms and lawns produce algae, depleting dissolved oxygen and suffocating marine life, causing dead zones in places such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Baltic. In many regions, untreated sewage still flows into the seas - 80% of urban sewage discharged into the Mediterranean is untreated. A recent addition to the challenge is the role of desalination plants, cropping up in areas of water stress from the Middle East to Australia and California. As a core by-product of their water purification process, they add salt into the seas, so increasing salinity and hence acute toxicity.

While all of the pollutants are having severe negative impact, perhaps the most visible - hence one that will drive the biggest change in the next decade - is plastic. Around 275 million tons of plastic waste is generated each year around the world; between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tons is either washed or dumped deliberately into the sea. The World Bank expects the planet's municipal solid waste to double within 15 years, much of this in the form of single-use plastic items. Bottles, bags, balloons, packaging, shoes - all take decades to break down. This waste is ingested by pretty much every marine animal including fish, dolphins, seals and turtles. So far, plastic has been found to be blocking the digestive tracts of at least 267 different species.

Although this is a global problem, the epicentre of plastic pollution is clear. Today 60% of the plastic waste in the ocean comes from just 5 countries - China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The media already talks about the Great Pacific Garbage patch. By 2025, plastic consumption in Asia will increase by 80%, surpassing 200 million tons; some are calling for specific interventions in these 5 countries. Regionally, the EU is aiming to halve plastic bag use by 2018 but this is not an international standard. Industry experts expect that by 2050 we will be producing three times as much plastic as we do today; on a volume basis, the WEF sees that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans.

Plastic pollution is however not alone as an increasing danger to the world's seas. One politically sensitive issue now is associated with dredging and land reclamation. Whether in the South China seas, where China is creating islands built on coral reefs, or in Indonesia, where sand mining has been providing Singapore with the resource to add 130 square kilometres of artificial 'reclaimed' land in the past 40 years, mining has evidently moved from land to sea.

With all the consequences of our actions now becoming apparent, the question is what will change going forward? Has ocean pollution become such a significant issue that there will be tangible change within the next decade? Some think so. Foremost, and largely because of plastic waste, the visibility of the impact is clear in the media and policy bodies. The UN has included as its 14 th Sustainable Development Goal the ambition to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources." A core 2025 objective is to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, especially land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

Unfortunately, much of the world's oceans are not part of any one country's territorial waters. More than 40 per cent of the planet's surface (80 million square miles - seven times the area of the whole African continent) is ocean that belongs to everyone and no one - and hence is largely unregulated. While fishing, environmental, tourist and defence policies all unite to seek to protect and manage the sea close to a nation's shoreline, beyond a notional 12 to 200-mile limits it is largely a free-for-all. This is where the fish, dolphins and plankton are taking the hit. No one is setting the global rules and few are agreeing on a better way.

When will the balance tip? When will the negative impacts on our environment, the ecology and, most significantly from a financial perspective, a good share of our food resources start to change attitudes? Some are putting their faith in China to set new standards, but these may only apply locally. At a global level some see that a rethinking of the value of the 'blue-economy' is required. The Global Ocean Commission, for one, has called for adoption of an ambitious, long-term goal of zero plastic waste into the marine environment. This will require partnerships and behaviour changes that simply do not exist today, and the end of Europe and the US shipping its waste to Asia. If we start to see waste as a resource in the next decade, will perceptions - and maybe behaviours - shift?

Whether seeking to protect food supplies or looking to fulfil UN development goals, bringing order to the high seas is seen as critical for the future. We have already overshot the planetary limits on biodiversity and nitrogen; as the consequences become more apparent, can we avoid the same for ocean pollution?

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There are increasing high levels of man-made pollution in many of the world's seas and little actually disappears. By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans. We live on a blue planet; the world's oceans cover three quarters of the Earth.

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plastic is one of the fastest way of extinction for birds and animals

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David Katz: The surprising solution to ocean plastic

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Can we solve the problem of ocean plastic pollution and end extreme poverty at the same time? That's the ambitious goal of The Plastic Bank: a worldwide chain of stores where everything from school tuition to cooking fuel and more is available for purchase in exchange for plastic garbage -- which is then sorted, shredded and sold to brands who reuse "social plastic" in their products.

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there are so many ways to help clean up the planet 

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there are so many ways to help clean up the planet 

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if you walk into a grocery store you can see that mostly everything we have is ether made of plastic or raped in plastic

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Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution

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Artist Dianna Cohen shares some tough truths about plastic pollution in the ocean and in our lives -- and some thoughts on how to free ourselves from the plastic gyre.

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more and more plastic is ending up in the ocean EVERY YEAR

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more and more plastic is ending up in the ocean EVERY YEAR

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plastic never disappears on its own it just goes into smaller pieces and makes it harder to clean up

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Unsightly plastic bottles, bags and other trash give just a hint of the largely unseen problem of plastic pollution. Scientists have found tiny bits of it throughout the ocean. The bad news: Sea life can't tell the difference between plastic and food.

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its not all plastic that is ending up in our waters its all trash tho

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if everyone starts recycling it will decrease the amount of waste in the water by at least 40 %

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we only have one planet so lets not kill it 

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we only have one planet so lets not kill it 

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we need to help clean up the planet because if this planet dies so do we, there is no other place to go

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there are many good reasons why plastic can be a good thing like some of our playgrounds are made of plastic and whaterboddles and food containers