Count it, then weigh it
The same 1.1 million pieces from the survey nets tell two very different stories. Flip between them.
What kind of plastic, by number of pieces
How big the pieces are, by number of pieces
9 in 10
pieces are smaller than a grain of rice
These microplastics, under 5 mm, are 93% of the pieces but less than 1% of the weight.
Over half
the weight is in big objects
Items longer than 50 cm, mostly bundles of net, are just 1 in 1,700 pieces but 56% of the weight.
Sunlight
breaks big things into small things
UV light makes plastic brittle and waves crack it apart. It doesn't disappear; today's crate becomes tomorrow's fragments.
Writing from all around the Pacific
Language printed on 382 recovered objects. Much of it is fishing and shipping gear, so the language shows where an item was made, not who dropped it.