A pile of debris including all kinds of plastics grows hourly at Omni Recycling, a materials recovery facility in Pitman, N.J. Plastic bags are especially problematic because they can get caught in the conveyor belts and equipment and gum up the recycling process. Rebecca Davis/NPR hide caption
Trash sent for recycling moves along a conveyor belt to be sorted at Waste Management's material recovery facility in Elkridge, Md. In 2018, China announced it would no longer buy most plastic waste from places like the United States. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The river that once snaked through the village is now a large trash heap. Diaa Hadid/NPR hide caption
A discarded plastic bottle lies on the beach at Sandy Hook, N.J. Packaging is the largest source of the plastic waste that now blankets our planet. Wayne Parry/AP hide caption
By one estimate, emissions from producing and incinerating plastics could amount to 56 gigatons of carbon — almost 50 times the annual emissions of all of the coal power plants in the U.S. — between now and 2050. Koji Sasahara/AP hide caption
Anne Schauer-Gimenez (from left) Allison Pieja and Molly Morse of Mango Materials stand next to the biopolymer fermenter at a sewage treatment plant next to San Francisco Bay. The fermenter feeds bacteria the methane they need to produce a biological form of plastic. Chris Joyce/NPR hide caption
Lettuce sprouts amid rows of plastic covering the ground at One Straw Farm, an organic operation north of Baltimore. Although conventional farmers also use plastic mulch, organic produce farms like One Straw rely on the material even more because they must avoid chemical weed killers, which are banned in organic farming. Lisa Elaine Held/NPR hide caption
The deep ocean is filled with sea creatures like giant larvaceans. They're actually the size of tadpoles, but they're surrounded by a yard-wide bubble of mucus that collects food — and plastic. Courtesy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute hide caption
Debris blankets the north side of one of the Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean. Researchers found a huge amount of plastic both onshore and buried in the sand. Courtesy of Silke Stuckenbrock hide caption
A team of researchers found a surprisingly large amount of microplastic in the air in the Pyrenees mountains in southern France. VW Pics/UIG via Getty Images hide caption
The U.S. used to ship about 7 million tons of plastic trash to China a year, where much of it was recycled into raw materials. Then came the Chinese crackdown of 2018. Olivia Sun/NPR hide caption
Around the globe, people are searching for ways to reduce plastic waste. Above: Dampalit, a fishing community in Manila Bay, can't keep up with a constant influx of trash. Jes Aznar for NPR hide caption
Teenage sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen of Bali have received many honors for their efforts to ban plastic bags. Above: They accept the 2017 "Award for Our Earth" from Germany's Bambi Awards. Alexander Koerner/Getty Images hide caption
A curious harbor seal checks out diver Mike Weber as he and other divers pick up golf balls in the waters off the coast of Northern California. His daughter wrote a paper about all the golf balls found in the ocean from nearby golf courses. Courtesy of Alex Weber hide caption
Sachets like these, developed to market consumer goods to the poor, have become ubiquitous all over Asia. Jes Aznar for NPR hide caption
Microplastics found along Lake Ontario by Rochman's team Chris Joyce/NPR hide caption
Waste engineer Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia surveys plastic waste in a southeast Asian village, where it will be recycled to make raw material for more plastic products. Jambeck advises Asian governments on how to keep plastic trash out of waterways. Courtesy of Amy Brooks hide caption