Plastic, plastic everywhere.

The central North Pacific ocean is not crossed by many large ships because it is shorter for them to travel from North America to the Far East on a more northerly route. For this reason the Great Pacific Plastic Patch is only observed by yachts and more recently research vessels. The slow rotation of the Pacific ocean has cause a huge amount of plastic to congregate in an area bigger than Texas.

Recently it has been discovered that this plastic is not just sitting there but it is also giving off toxic chemicals that are harmful to various lifeforms.

So the answer is simple. Don't buy things that are made out of plastic, particularly things that will be eventually thrown away. If an item you want to buy comes wrapped in too much plastic ask the store to remove it before you take it home, or don't buy it. Eventually they will get the message.