1. Introduct ion.................................................................................................................34
1.1 The Plast ic Lifec ycle is Broken...........................................................................................................36
1.1.1 A Brief History of Plastic..................................................................................................................37
1.1.2 Plastic in the Oceans.......................................................................................................................37
1.1.3 Breaking the Cycle..........................................................................................................................38
1.1.4 What is the Problem........................................................................................................................39
1.2 Observat ions of Oceanic Plast ic Poll ution......................................................................................40
1.2.1 Plastic Pollution as Quantified by Net Tows.....................................................................................41
1.2.2 Plastic Pollution as Quantified by Visual Observations....................................................................45
1.3 Plast ic in the Marine Environment....................................................................................................48
1.3.1 Ecological impacts.........................................................................................................................49
1.3.1.1 Entanglement.......................................................................................................................49
1.3.1.2 Ingestion..............................................................................................................................52
1.3.1.3 Invasive species....................................................................................................................54
1.3.2 Economic impacts..........................................................................................................................54
1.3.2.1 Direct and Indirect Costs......................................................................................................54
1.3.3 Ecotoxicological impacts.................................................................................................................56
1.3.3.1 Toxic Additives in Plastic.......................................................................................................56
1.3.3.2 Absorption of Contaminants by Plastic.................................................................................57
1.3.3.3 Transfer of Contaminants to Organisms................................................................................58
1.4 Arguments for a cleanup.....................................................................................................................60
1.4.1 Trends in Plastic Usage....................................................................................................................61
1.4.2 Natural Plastic Loss from the Gyres.................................................................................................62
1.4.3 Moral arguments............................................................................................................................63
1.4.4 Conclusions....................................................................................................................................63
1.5 Cleanup Challenges ..............................................................................................................................64
1.5.1 Scale and Depth.............................................................................................................................65
1.5.2 Plastic Size and Depth Distribution.................................................................................................65
1.5.3 Destructive Marine Environment.....................................................................................................65
1.5.4 Environmental Impact.....................................................................................................................67
1.5.5 Legal Challenges............................................................................................................................67
1.6 Alternat ive Cleanup Concepts ............................................................................................................68
1.6.1 Drone-based Concepts....................................................................................................................69
1.6.2 Vessel-based Concepts...................................................................................................................69