Out to Sea

Since the beginning of the 20th century, plastic has traveled with triumphant speed through consumer society. The material is economical, easy to process and can be given almost any properties. Around the world today, 8,000 kilograms of plastic are produced every second.

While plastic products are making our lives easier, the oceans are starting to turn into a giant soup of plastic. Today, not a single square kilometer of seawater is free of plastic particles. Because standard plastic is not biodegradable, it splits into smaller and smaller pieces that eventually enter the food chain.

In the centre of the exhibition is plastic debris retrieved from the Pacific, North Sea and Baltic Sea. In the section Plastic from the Oceans is shown the background of the problem and its fatal impact on the sea, animals and people. In the section Plastic in Everyday Life the most common plastic items are examined on the basis of health risks, material cycles and recycling.

The Plastic Garbage Project is produced by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich

^{Caption: Stranded plastic waste, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, 2006, photo: © Paulo Maurin/NOAA
Photos: John Nelander}