Since plastic was invented in 1907, it has been used for everything from food containers to diapers as a common single-use material. However, most plastics found in off-shore environments only date as far back as the 1990s. Based on its 500-year breakdown timeframe, the plastic found from the 90s will not fully degrade until the year 2400 at the earliest.

In coastal regions, 79% of plastic found was less than 5 years old. Each year, 3% of the world's plastic waste enters the ocean (through rivers and multiple ports of entry). While that may seem like a small amount, it equates to 99.6 metric tons of waste within 30 miles of the coast.

Microplastics are the smallest plastic particles left over after plastic breaks down, and are usually undetected. Globally, there are estimated to be more than 5 trillion of these plastic particles in the ocean waters. Recent studies have even found microplastics in human blood, bringing this crisis to the attention of humans as well.