Plastic began as a “miracle.” Now, it’s one of our greatest environmental challenges.

Plastic’s story began with good intentions. In 1907, Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland created Bakelite, the world’s first fully synthetic plastic—hailed as a miracle material that could replace scarce natural resources like ivory and tortoiseshell. By the mid-20th century, plastics were mass-produced worldwide, woven into everything from packaging to medicine, transport, and electronics. Cheap, durable and versatile, plastic spread faster than any other material in human history.

But its greatest strength—durability—is also its greatest danger. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade; it only breaks into smaller pieces. As global production soared, so did pollution, and our oceans became the final dumping ground. Today, more than 170 trillion plastic particles float across the world’s seas, a crisis driven by overuse, poor waste management, and a throwaway culture.

Ocean currents play a major role in this disaster. Vast circular currents called gyres trap drifting plastics, creating massive accumulation zones known as “garbage patches.” The most infamous, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, spans an area twice the size of Queensland. These patches aren’t islands of rubbish but dense soups of microplastics that entangle wildlife, choke marine animals, and infiltrate the food chain from plankton upward.

Closer to home, the waters of the Groote Archipelago face their own threat: ghost nets. These are abandoned or lost fishing nets that drift silently through the sea, continuing to trap turtles, fish, sharks and seabirds long after their operators are gone. Carried by the currents from fisheries across the Arafura and Timor Seas, they wash up on Groote’s beaches in devastating numbers each year. Rangers and community groups work tirelessly to remove them, but new nets keep arriving with every tide.

Plastic began as a “miracle.” Now, it’s one of our greatest environmental challenges—one we must confront with innovation, responsibility and global cooperation if we’re to protect oceans like those surrounding Groote Eylandt for generations to come.