Marcellus once asked, "How much plastic ends up in the oceans?"

Every damn day, plastic is leaking into the ocean from all over the damn globe. It’s like we’re running a plastic tap and forgot to turn it off. We’re talking thousands of sources, all conspiring to make this mess. Now, you’d think with all the plastic we’re churning out — over 400 million metric tons a year — the ocean would be buried in the stuff, right? Well, hold onto your hats, ‘cause less than 0.5% of that actually ends up in the ocean. But don’t start celebrating just yet, ‘cause that “tiny” percentage still means over 1 million metric tons of plastic. Yeah, you heard me right — that’s a colossal amount of trash.

This ain’t just about numbers; it’s about stewardship, and you better believe that stewardship is rooted in the Good Book itself. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15). We’ve been given this Earth to care for, not to smother with plastic. And when we fail in our duty, we ain't just letting down Mother Nature — we’re committing heresy against the very mandate God laid down. So how does plastic get its sorry ass into the ocean? Let’s break it down.

Plastic ain't just magically appearing in the ocean. It's got a whole journey, and that journey starts with how we humans handle our trash — or rather, how we don’t. The numbers don’t lie: only 9% of plastic gets recycled, and a whopping 22% is either not collected, disposed of wrong, or just straight-up litter. Now, you got rich folks over here consuming the most plastic, but because they got better waste management, it doesn’t end up in the ocean as much. But in those middle-income countries where waste management is weak? That’s where the real problem lies.

When storms hit, that plastic gets washed straight into rivers, and those rivers? They’re the express lanes taking that plastic right to the ocean. And not every piece of plastic makes it to the sea, but the closer it is to a river, and the closer that river is to the ocean, the higher the chance it’ll end up there. This is why coastal cities in these middle-income countries are the hotspots for plastic emissions.

In fact, we pinpointed 1000 rivers worldwide that represent almost 80% of ocean plastic emissions. That’s some serious leakage. And let me tell you something — that plastic? It don’t care about borders, race, or creed. It affects everyone, especially our neighbors in vulnerable regions. Remember what the Good Book says, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31). You let this plastic crap loose, you ain’t just hurting some fish; you’re hurting your fellow man. Pollution isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s a neighborly issue. And ignoring it? That’s a sin that won’t go unpunished.

Alright, so now that this plastic is in the ocean, where does it end up? Well, most of it either sinks or gets washed up on a beach pretty damn fast. Nearly half of that plastic sinks because it’s got no buoyancy. The rest? About 80% of it beaches within a month of hitting the ocean. Yeah, coastlines become the final resting place for most of that floating junk. It’s bad news for the environment, bad news for coastal communities, and bad news for anyone who enjoys a clean beach.

Now, take a PET bottle, for instance. It’s probably gonna sink as it fills with water, but that cap? It’ll float around for much longer. Products made of HDPE are likely to travel far and wide, polluting places they were never meant to reach.

Once plastic gets caught in these massive ocean currents, called gyres, it’s like it’s caught in a whirlpool of doom. And it ain’t getting out anytime soon. The most infamous of these gyres is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is twice the size of Texas. But don’t be fooled; this isn’t some floating island of trash you can just scoop up. It’s more like a soup — a nasty, plastic-filled broth that’s got about 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, most of them large objects just waiting to break down into microplastics, making the problem even worse.

Fishing Waste: Now, rivers might be the main culprits, but out in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, about 80% of the plastic comes from fishing gear — nets, buoys, traps, you name it. This stuff was built to last in the water, so once it’s out there, it’s not coming back.

Microplastic Sources: When we talk microplastics, there’s primary — things like nurdles and cosmetic microbeads — and secondary, which are the breakdown products of larger plastics. Two big offenders? Vehicle tires and synthetic clothing. These tiny particles are tough to clean up and can mess up the food chain, starting from the smallest organisms right up to us humans.

Wildlife: Marine life is catching hell from plastic pollution. Fish, turtles, seals — you name it, they’re suffering. This plastic sticks around for decades, and during all that time, it’s wreaking havoc. Entanglement and ingestion are common, impacting 914 megafaunal species, with over 100 endangered. The Mediterranean monk seal is a prime example; fishing gear entanglement is its second leading cause of death.

A Delicate Ecosystem: The ocean is a finely balanced system, and plastic is throwing that balance way off. It’s not just the physical damage; plastic carries harmful chemicals and toxins that, over time, become even more dangerous.

Human Health: Microplastics are all around us — in our food, water, even the air we breathe. The long-term effects on human health are still a mystery, but early signs aren’t good. Plastic can cross the blood-brain barrier in mice in just two hours, potentially causing all kinds of health issues.

Economies: The economic impact of plastic pollution is staggering — up to $19 billion a year. That’s from the damage to fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, and the cost of cleanup. Not to mention the danger posed by derelict fishing gear to vessels at sea.

Plastic pollution ain’t a local issue; it’s a global crisis that demands a global response. The UN Environment Assembly has had this on their radar for years, and in 2022, 175 countries signed a resolution to work on a legally binding agreement to tackle this mess. But let’s be real: change is slow. Meanwhile, the trash keeps piling up. That’s why Oceanburn is happening, targeting the endpoints of these sources of pollution and cleaning up what’s already in the water.

And "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1). That’s the vision, people — a future where this planet ain’t drowning in plastic. But getting there means we have to act now. The time for half-measures is over. You either step up and be a steward of this Earth, or you face the consequences. Ain’t no middle ground when it comes to saving this planet.

Our cleanup efforts aren’t just about picking up trash; they’re a way to monitor pollution levels, assess the impact of policies, and refine our strategies. The ultimate goal? A future where cleanup isn’t needed anymore.