Hello from south of the Equator! I’m excited to announce that I’ve been chosen to be a crew member on the latest 5 Gyres mission, which will study plastic pollution (like the debris in Punta Arenas, Chile in the photo above) in the south of Chile. 5 Gyres is an organization that seeks to study plastic pollution in waters around the world, report on the problem, and attempt to provide solutions – with the northern Pacific gyre currently clocking in at twice the size of the United States, it’s clear that plastic pollution is a huge issue. Electrolux has sponsored my journey and I’ll be bringing Inhabitat readers updates straight from the Sea Dragon sailboat about what we find – read on for more info on our trip!

Continue reading below
Our Featured Videos
plastic pollution, chile, 5 gyres organization, pangea explorations, brit liggett, where does plastic go, plastic gyre, pacific gyre, south pacific gyre, how big is the pacific gyre, marine pollution, ocean pollution, water pollution

I’ve just met up with the crew of the Sea Dragon in Puerto Williams, Chile — the southern most town in the world — after a day of rest in Punta Arenas, Chile. Our boat will set sail from Puerto, Williams — weather permitting — on Friday morning, and we’ll be exploring the southern coast of Chile to document any and all incidents of plastic pollution that we find. In addition to the northern Pacific gyre there are 5 gyres around the world, and one is off the western coast of southern Chile. Winds sweep across the south Pacific, and a lot of the plastic ends up in the jagged coastline of southern Chile.

No one has explored this watery region for plastic pollution before, so the crew of the Sea Dragon and I will be blazing a new trail. I’ll be blogging from the boat about our adventures and will report back on everything we find. From Puerto Williams, we will sail north along the coast and end our mission in Valdivia, Chile on March 14th. I’ll be interviewing the two scientists on the boat, the 5 Gyres employees, and other crew members about their experiences studying plastic pollution in the oceans – stay tuned to Inhabitat.com for my first hand account!

+ Vac From the Sea blog

+ Electrolux

+ 5 Gyres

+ The Sea Dragon

Inhabitat Writer and Video Producer Brit Liggett was chosen by Electrolux to be a crew member on the latest 5 Gyres expedition. She is traveling along the southern coast of Chile helping the crew of the Sea Dragon study plastic pollution along the Chilean coastline. This post is sponsored by Electrolux