Why Trying to Clean Up All the Ocean Plastic Is Pointless

It makes sense that we would try to invest time and effort into cleaning the oceans. Humans are used to cleaning up after making a mess ... but what if we might be better served by ignoring our natural impulse to clean what we have already polluted?

Pollution expert Max Liboiron suggests that there may be a better solution to confronting plastic pollution: stop it from happening in the first place. Here's the memorable metaphor he uses to explain his point:

OK, you walk into your bathroom and your bathtub is overflowing. Do you, a) turn off the tap, or b) get a mop? I mean, eventually you’ll do both, but you better turn off that tap before you start mopping up or you will never stop mopping up and you will never catch up to the water spilling out. That’s a great model for job security but a horrible model for dealing with pollution.

So yes, plastic pollution is a huge problem and probably cleaning it up needs to happen. But it is all rather pointless if we continue dumping plastic into the oceans.