From now until the 24th of August, you can watch a 5 Gyres research expedition live on their website. Why is this exciting? Well, the team at 5 Gyres is leading 22 citizen scientists into the Arctic to collect samples for their marine plastic pollution research. We at Modern Kids Design appreciate the hard work 5 Gyres does to help educate the world about plastic pollution in our waterways and wanted to share more about their mission.

The Microbead Menace

Plastic seems to be everywhere. Since its creation in 1907 in the form of bakelite, plastic has snuck into numerous products from clothing (polyester), car engine parts (polyamides), food packaging, plumbing (PVC), and more. One surprising place plastic has turned up in the past decade is in “exfoliating” body washes and face washes. That’s right—microbeads. Remember those?

Well, in 2015, microbeads were banned after President Obama signed H.R.1321 into law—the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015. There will be no more microbead manufacturing after July 1st, 2017, and no more cosmetic items sold featuring microbeads after January 1, 2018. This ban was enacted thanks in part to the collaboration of nonprofit and research groups like 5 Gyres who fight to keep waterways clean and to better understand the effects of modern living on oceans and lakes.

Microbeads are only one small problem, however. Plastic pollution increases daily, especially since plastic bags are still commonplace and bottled water continues to grow in popularity. That’s why 5 Gyres continues to monitor the health of the oceans and the amount of plastic pollution they contain. They work hard to better understand the scope of the problem at a global scale. After all, we’re all linked by the amazing oceans and seas that cover the face of the Earth.

If you’re interested in learning more about 5 Gyres and their Arctic expedition, we recommend you check out their website. They have information about what you can do to fight plastic pollution in waterways as well as more info regarding what they do.  Also, if you or anyone you know would like to join them and to take part in their 2017 research expedition, you can do that too by simply reaching out to them to get more information on how to do it.

5 Gyres current work in the Arctic is providing amazing opportunities to researchers who are interested in studying Arctic waters. Their research will provide a clearer picture of the state of global marine plastic pollution and hopefully inspire change.

Modern Kids Design is proud to support 5 Gyres and the revolution they’re leading to research and educate. Their continued hard work and dedication to the environment shed light on global marine plastic pollution and help to offer solutions so we can keep our oceans free of plastic.