Part 2/11:
The roots of the plastic-free movement can be traced back to 1997 when Captain Charles Moore encountered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive accumulation of plastic debris in the ocean. Although this discovery was not a scientific breakthrough, it sparked significant public awareness about plastic pollution. The Los Angeles Times' series on the garbage patch in 2006 further propelled this issue into the mainstream and won a Pulitzer Prize, confirming the topic's prominence in environmental discourse.