PLASTIC FAQ

PLASTIC IN THE OCEAN

  • A gyre is a large-scale system of wind-driven surface currents in the ocean. The gyres referred to in the name of our organization are the five main subtropical gyres — located in the North and South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean — which are massive, circular current systems. Accumulation zones of plastic form in the five subtropical gyres as a result of the diminished winds and currents occurring at latitudes synonymous with continental deserts. Basically, plastic is trapped within these currents, taking at least 10 years to cycle back out — if it doesn’t first get eaten by marine life or sink to the bottom.

  • 5 Gyres published the world’s first Global Estimate of Marine Plastic Pollution in 2014, determining there were 5.25 trillion particles, weighing 269,000 metric tons, on the ocean’s surface. We published an updated estimate in 2023, revealing there are now more than 170 trillion plastic particles, weighing 2 million tonnes, afloat in the world’s ocean.

  • The main sources of plastic debris found in the ocean come from maritime activities, like fishing and shipping. Plastic does enter the ocean from the world’s rivers and populated coastlines, but the majority of that plastic waste washes ashore again. Microplastics shed from consumer goods, like car tires and textiles, and are small enough to escape wastewater treatment plants and enter waterways and the ocean. We are all connected by a watershed, so even landlocked cities have an impact on the ocean.

  • After journeying to the North Pacific Gyre five times, we can confirm that the “plastic island” doesn’t actually exist, despite misinformed images of floating plastic in lakes, rivers, and nearshore areas attributed to the open ocean. This myth perpetuates the false notion of a “clean-up” solution, positioning marine plastic pollution as something we can collect with nets and other devices while continuing to use plastic without consequence. While there are concentrations of plastic in the gyres, the material is constantly breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces, which permeate all waters. In the ocean, plastic is less like an island, and more like smog.

  • In the ocean, ultraviolet light makes plastic brittle and wave action crushes it, breaking it down into microplastics (pieces smaller than a grain of rice). If not consumed by marine life, these fragments permeate the water column and slowly settle to the sea floor. Also, the world’s rivers and drainages from populated coastlines are huge emitters of microplastics that are generated on land and flow to the ocean. After completing the first Global Estimate of Marine Plastic Pollution, we began to refer to these particles as “plastic smog.” The Smog of the Sea documentary about our 2015 expedition, produced by Jack Johnson, explores this concept.

  • While we do partner with other nonprofits, businesses, and Ambassadors on cleanups occasionally, collecting plastic waste is not our focus or a viable long-term strategy. Cleanups are an important piece of the puzzle and a great way to illustrate the magnitude of the plastic pollution problem, but we focus on upstream solutions that address the issue at the source. Our TrashBlitz program offers a way to take cleanups a step further by contributing to data collection that is used to support policy measures and private sector solutions.

IMPACT OF PLASTIC POLLUTION

  • More than 1,200 marine species, including fish, turtles, dolphins, sharks, and whales, are impacted by plastic through ingestion or entanglement—both of which can sicken or even kill them. Filter feeders, like whales, ingest plastic floating at sea, while turtles often mistake floating bags for jellyfish. Plastic pollution doesn’t just impact marine species; we found 2,000 plastic bags inside the stomach of a camel in Dubai, far from the ocean. It’s been documented inside Asian elephants, black bears in Colorado, and migratory seabirds. Plastics pose additional threats to wildlife once they break down into microplastics, which can accumulate in food webs, translocate between cells and tissues of organisms, and affect marine and terrestrial biodiversity.

  • New research continues to shed light on the health concerns of microplastic pollution, with studies documenting plastic particles in our blood, heart, placenta, breast milk, and brain. While research on human health impacts are fairly new, it's well documented that microplastic ingestion causes harm to mice, fish, and other biota, including behavioral and physiological changes, oxidative stress, and reduced growth. In humans, studies have shown similar impacts such as oxidative stress and inflammatory response, and microplastics have also been linked to endocrine disruption, cardiovascular disease, and dementia. More research is ongoing, but at this point, we already know enough to act.

  • Plastics are a complex mixture of chemicals, not just inert materials. Over 16,000 chemicals have been identified as associated with plastics, and typically range from 0.001% to 50% additives by weight. These include plasticizers, flame retardants, UV stabilizers, colorants, and other processing aids, many of which are toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative. Plastic additives are detected in the environment, food, and our bodies.

    Critically, only a small fraction of these chemicals have been thoroughly assessed for toxicity, and even fewer have been regulated. Some are known or suspected carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, or mutagens — posing potential risks to human health and the environment throughout a plastic product's life cycle.

  • A study published in 2015 determined that 8 million metric tons entered our oceans in 2010, enough to cover every foot of coastline in the world. Most of the plastic came from heavily populated countries with poor waste management systems, such as China, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia. However, the report failed to acknowledge that many developed nations, including the United States, Canada, and EU, export plastic waste to developing countries. China imported nearly half of America’s plastic waste in 2011, before enacting the “National Sword” policy that banned the import of most plastics. Afterward, the U.S. rerouted most shipments to other countries in the Global South, like Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia; plastic exports from the U.S. to Indonesia increased by 219%! In many of these countries, people, including children, become “waste pickers” sorting through rivers of plastic trash to find pieces to sell while polluted waterways transport the remainder straight out to sea. Plastic pollution is a social justice issue.

  • When we think about climate change, we typically focus on factories, coal, and cars, but 99% of plastic comes from fossil fuels. Plastic is intrinsically connected to climate change, and it pollutes at every stage of its life cycle, from materials extraction to product production to waste disposal. As we diversify our sources for fuel and energy, the fossil fuel industry is betting on plastics to continue expanding its petrochemicals business; plastic production is projected to triple by 2050. Typically built in or near low-income communities of color, plastic production facilities pose both environmental and social justice problems.

  • Statistics on the time it takes different plastic products to break down have never been verified. Charts that list the years it takes for certain items to break down are inaccurate, misleading, and should not be utilized. Degradation rates for plastics are environmentally dependent: A plastic bag stuck in a tree will shred in a month or two, but buried in mud it will last far longer. The bottom line is that plastics are generally not biodegradable and non-nutritive, so they last a long time in most environments. But there are mechanical, chemical, and photodegradation mechanisms that can break different plastics into micro- and nano-sized particles, and even break the polymer chains back into monomers. This is environmentally dependent and occurs on long time scales, allowing ample time for plastic to cause harm to wildlife and humans.

MICROPLASTICS

  • Microplastics come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and plastic types, and are classified into two main categories: primary microplastics, which are intentionally produced small plastic particles; and secondary microplastics, which result from the breakdown of larger plastic items. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the top sources of microplastics in the environment include textiles, car tires, road markings, personal care products, plastic pellets, marine coatings, and city dust.

  • We are exposed to microplastics through ingestion, inhalation, and skin absorption, as these plastic particles are present in everyday environments. Food and beverages can become contaminated when stored in plastic packaging or prepared with plastic cooking utensils, allowing microscopic fragments to mix with what we consume. Microplastics can also enter the food chain through contaminated seafood, as well as fruits and vegetables that absorb them from soil and water. Inhalation is another common exposure route, with microfibers from synthetic textiles, such as clothing and furniture, shedding into the air. These airborne particles can travel long distances and are the most common foreign particles found in human lungs. Additionally, some personal care products contain plastic microbeads that can be absorbed through the skin.

  • Microplastics are more than just small pieces of plastic — they’re a complex suite of contaminants. Their small size allows them to enter cells and tissues of organisms and translocate across biological membranes. Microplastics may carry toxic additives or adsorb and concentrate pollutants from the surrounding environment – these include contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). For example, a single microplastic particle can be over one million times more toxic than the seawater around it, due to its ability to act as a chemical “sponge.” Microplastics also host microbial colonization and biofilm formation, which can include pathogenic or antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

  • We're exposed to microplastics from various sectors in our everyday lives, including microplastics from food packaging and cookware, microfibers from textiles, tire dust from cars, and microbeads in personal care products. It's nearly impossible to completely avoid plastics, but there are some small lifestyle changes that can help minimize exposure. In the kitchen, opt for glass, wood, and stainless steel for anything that comes in contact with food, including containers, cookware, and cutting boards. Never microwave food in a plastic container, as the heat can cause it to shed microplastics and toxic chemicals. Some additional tips include installing a microfiber-catching filter to laundry machines and dryers, opting for home textiles (curtains, couches, rugs) made from natural fibers instead of synthetic, choosing personal care and cleaning products without plastic microbeads, and dusting or vacuuming often.

SOLUTIONS TO PLASTIC POLLUTION

  • While it’s not exactly a “myth”, plastic recycling has not proven itself to work. Currently, more than 380 million tons of new plastic is produced annually, and less than 6% is recycled. The chasing arrows symbol on an item doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s recyclable. These plastic resin codes simply identify the type of plastic, and only plastics #1 (PET/PETE) and #2 (HDPE) are widely recycled in most curbside recycling programs. Recycling is a business, and in order for it to work, the recycled material has to have value. Currently, it’s actually cheaper to use virgin plastics than it is to use recycled plastic. A few reasons for this are the poor quality of the plastic material introduced into the marketplace, lack of material consistency with viable end markets, lack of required post-consumer resin in new products, and subsidies for fossil fuel extraction. All of these factors make virgin plastic production more economically feasible than plastics recycling. Learn more about the challenges of recycling plastic.

  • While promising research continues to emerge around some alternative materials to single-use plastic, labels like “compostable,” “biodegradable”, and “bioplastics” are misleading and lack transparency about what happens if products and packaging end up in the environment. Some biomaterials, like PLA, persist in the environment like conventional plastics and require an industrial composting facility to break down. On the other hand, some bio-based plastics, like bio-PET, are made from renewable raw materials but behave similarly to fossil fuel-based plastics in the environment.


    Reuse is always the best option, but we recognize that circular systems are not possible for every case of plastic use (for example, thin film to wrap meats and cheeses). There are opportunities for upstream innovations across all sectors, and in some applications, biomaterials can offer an alternative to fossil fuel-based plastics. Our Better Alternatives 3.0 report offers greater transparency regarding these novel materials, their real-world behavior in the environment, and key considerations that should be taken into account before the widespread adoption of biomaterials across all sectors of society.

  • Some studies have indicated that plastics may be degraded by microbes. While this is interesting research, it’s important to note that these studies were conducted in labs where conditions don’t replicate real life. The scale of the plastic pollution problem is so huge that it’s unlikely plastic-eating microbes will be a real solution. Instead, we should focus on the root of the issue and “turning off the tap” to unnecessary plastic production.

  • For decades, the plastics and chemical industries have proposed “chemical recycling” as a solution to the problem of plastic pollution. This is simply another word for incineration, or burning plastic waste. We share the stance of organizations like the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and Greenpeace Southeast Asia in opposing these “waste-to-energy technologies” because they release large amounts of carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming, along with toxic chemicals that pollute the environment. They also undermine waste reduction and recycling programs, and encourage the continued production of cheap plastic goods.

  • Once plastic is in the environment, it’s difficult and expensive to clean up. The best way to mitigate the problem of plastic pollution is at the source by turning off the tap and replacing plastics with better alternatives and circular systems. There are also some downstream interventions that are proven to be effective in the short term for improving waste management, like filtration systems on washing machines and dryers. With sound research, improved waste management, strong policies, and better product design, the problem of plastic debris drifting in the furthest reaches of the planet can be controlled.

  • While 5 Gyres continues to work behind-the-scenes with scientists, policymakers, and brands to address the issue at the source, there are things that you can do on the individual level to support a plastic pollution-free future.

    • Opt for reusables – avoid single-use plastic whenever possible, and always have reusables handy, like a water bottle, tote bag, coffee cup, and utensils.

    • Do a TrashBlitz – contribute to community science that drives change by doing a cleanup and submitting your data through our TrashBlitz app.

    • Become a 5 Gyres Ambassador – join our global community of changemakers who are using their unique experiences and skillset to support the movement.