Plastic wasn't invented until the late 19th century, and production only took off around 1950. But today we have 9.2 billion tons of the stuff to deal with. Of that, more than 6.9 billion tons have become waste. It is unclear how long it will take for the plastic to completely biodegrade into constituent molecules. Estimates range from 450 years to never. Meanwhile, ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals every year. Nearly 700 species have been affected. Some are harmed visibly—strangled by abandoned fishing nets or discarded six-pack rings. Many more are harmed invisibly. They eat microplastics, the bits smaller than one-fifth of an inch across. Since World War II, plastics have transformed our lives, mostly for the better. They have eased travel into space and revolutionized medicine. They lighten cars and jumbo jets, saving fuel and pollution. They extend the life of fresh food and save lives daily by delivering cleaning drinking water to needy areas. Now the growth of plastic production has far outstripped the ability of waste management, and the oceans are under assault. Governments and corporations have been making efforts to address the waste problem. Kenya, for example, joined a growing list of nations that have banned plastic bags, imposing steep fines and jail time on violators. Coca-cola announced a goal to recycle 100 percent of its packaging by 2030. These help at some level, but the real solution is to stop plastic from entering the ocean. There are two fundamental ways industry can help. First, it can design new plastics that are either biodegradable or more recyclable. The second way is to just collect the trash. More effective and efficient garbage collection systems are necessary. We need garbage trucks to collect the waste on a regular basis so that it does not end up going all over the planet.