The oceanic gyres serve as a large dump for plastics of all kinds. But maybe we can CRISPR some critters into eating it.

Then what becomes of the CRISPR critters???

In all such matters, I refer you to:

maybe they could be rounded up, and then launched into Venus.

Recycling isn't all it's cracked up to be. Metal recycling (steel, aluminum, copper, etc.) is very effective, but plastic (and even paper) are a very different story. With plastic the biggest problem is contamination. It also depends on the kind of plastic, because there are many different kinds of plastic with different chemical compositions. This makes it tricky, as well. Really, whether or not we recycle it, plastic is detrimental to the environment. And it's pretty clear that we aren't going to stop producing plastic anytime soon.

So I guess what I'm saying is that we're screwed.

And it's pretty clear that we aren't going to stop producing plastic anytime soon. — JustSomeGuy

Can plastic be made out of hemp?

Plastic production/ use will be pushed right until we're on the brink of annihilation. As is our style.

It's possible, I know there's a kind of plastic that can be made using corn. But the thing is, that would just be one kind of plastic, and there are a large number of different plastics used for many different things. So, looking to a single substance as a plastic alternative wouldn't work. If we actually wanted to replace plastic, we would need many different substances of many different kinds. Economically, plastic is by far the best option right now, so that combined with the fact that our "leaders" don't generally care much about the future of the planet since they won't be alive anymore, means we probably won't be replacing plastic. At least not any time soon.



Unfortunately I'd have to agree, that seems to be the most likely scenario.

Can also be made out of mushrooms apparently:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01kv6s6/p01kgj3w