We live in a world of plastics. They have revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and planes (conserving fuel and lowering air pollution), and made all manner of consumer goods cheaper. However, their convenience and low cost have spawned a throw-away culture that has a dark side: Single-use plastics currently account for about 40% of the plastic produced every year.

Plastic waste is ubiquitous; we see it in bodies of water from creeks and rivers to oceans. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a colossal accumulation of marine debris, predominantly composed of nondegradable plastic, stretching across the North Pacific, twice the size of Texas. This litter, composed largely of single-use items such as water bottles, cups, plates, and food-storage bags, originates from various continents and is almost impossible to corral and remediate due to the small size of its pieces and the depth of the ocean.