Each year, millions of tons (Links to an external site.) of discarded plastic makes its way into the worlds oceans. Even more discarded plastic collects in freshwater bodies (Links to an external site.) like lakes and rivers. Given the circular nature of the oceans currents, much of this plastic gets trapped in oceanic gyres¹. One such area, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is estimated (Links to an external site.) to weigh 87,000 tons and contain 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic.