"Every year we produce about 300 million tons of plastic, a portion of which enters and accumulates in the oceans. Due to large offshore currents, plastic concentrates in vast areas called gyres, of which the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between Hawaii and California is the best known example ... Marine debris causes an estimated $1.27 billion in fishing and vessel damage annually in the region of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co- operation (APEC) alone. Moreover, the removal of garbage from coastlines costs up to $25,000 per ton of plastic." (Quoted from site)