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The problem we have is there is too much plastic being produced, consumed as single-use plastic, and then disposed of incorrectly. Plastic pollution affects us and our health. Fish eat the plastic and then we eat the fish so then we get plastic in our bodies which is bad for us. Our pollution is harming the entire oceanic ecosystem, heating the oceans, and acidification of the oceans is damaging the coral reefs. Nearly 70% of Planet Earth is covered in ocean. At this rate, our oceans will soon be covered in plastic, which means we are headed for a disaster. 

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Many companies have attempted to collect trash from the oceans. One company called Ocean Cleanup created a barge that removes trash from the rivers called “The Interceptor.” The Interceptor operates on rivers and uses its long “U'' shaped “arms” to guide the trash to a conveyor belt that then gets sorted. When the bins become full, a boat operator comes to pick up the barge of recycling and trash, then replaces it when emptied. People in the shoring process recycle or dispose of the trash. This is one of the most effective river plastic pollution solutions that exist. Collecting the trash out of the rivers is a good solution, but then our landfills will just keep growing. 

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Plastic eating enzymes were recently discovered. Scientists use supercomputers to create new enzymes. This new category of enzymes has given people a lot of hope that we might find a solution to our plastic problem. The problem with current plastic-eating enzymes is that they are not able to consume enough plastic fast enough to make it a good solution for the size of our problem.