By Roy Weavers

Conservationists are planning hoping to collect up to 100 million tonnes of plastic waste floating in the Pacific and turn it into fuel. The giant waste collection, known as the ''Great Pacific Garbage Patch'', lies between California and Hawaii and has been collecting for 60 years as a result of currents.

It now covers an area twice as large as Texas and contains everything from shampoo bottles, children's toys, and tyres to plastic swimming pools. Volunteers from Project Kaisei, a conservation project based in San Francisco and Hong Kong, plan to use two ships to bring back some of the waste.

Australian filmmaker Richard Pain originating from Sydney, plans to swim inside a six-meter-long bottle made from thousands of used water bottles just to spread the message of green practices. The 45-year-old environmentalist is looking forward to move through the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch after swimming 9000 kilometres from Japan to the US.

The massive bottle made from used water bottles will behave pretty much like a shark cage for Pain. It will in true sense depict the plastic waste that is threatening the Pacific waste. The filmmaker after being infatuated with the massive garbage patch that is a result of North Pacific current decided to test his strength and swim through to bring about awareness regarding the numerous birds dying by eating this waste. Mr. Pain’s huge bottle will be attached to a boat that will tow it.

In order to prepare for the project, this keen ocean swimmer is undergoing rigorous training and hopes to go for the record-breaking attempt within a period of 18 months. He is also sacrificing on his Randwick home to raise some of the money needed for the project.  
Richard also dreams to raise environmental awareness and collect $1 million for research into the North Pacific Gyre, the body of water filling with plastic rubbish.

Editors Comments: What an achievement this would be.  To clean up this disaster area would see a major re-vitalisation of the Pacific Ocean.  And now that we know this has happened perhaps we can do something about making sure it never happens again, can't we?