Swimmer begins record Pacific Ocean crossing in effort to expose plastics in world’s waters

Long distance swimmer Ben Lecomte set off from Japan’s east coast on Tuesday in his bid to become the first person to swim across the Pacific Ocean, in an effort to collect research focusing on plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean, specifically the build-up of ‘plastic smog’ containing billions of pieces of microplastic.

• Man begins 6-month swim across Pacific Ocean — and through 1,600 km of trash