It’s estimated there are more than 140,000 tons of plastics spread out over an area that covers a million square miles of the Pacific Ocean that’s now being called the Great Pacific Garbage patch. Scientists and engineers working with various organizations are involved in cleanup projects that are making a dent in the problem. But more needs to done to stop more plastic from being dumped in the ocean in the first place, says Fulton Schools Professor Rolf Halden, director of ASU’s Center for Environmental Health Engineering.