Plastic proliferates at the bottom of world's deepest ocean trench

The remote Mariana Trench offers up yet another plastic bag during a recent deep submersible dive.

This story is part of Planet or Plastic?—our multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis. Learn what you can do to reduce your own single-use plastics, and take your pledge.

Yet again, plastic is proving to be everywhere in the sea. During a dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench that purportedly reached 35,849 feet, Dallas businessman Victor Vescovo claims to have found a plastic bag. And it's not even the first time: It's the third time plastic has been documented in the deepest explored part of the ocean.

Vescovo made his dive in a submersible on April 28 as part of his "Five Deeps" Expedition, which involve journeys to the deepest points in each of Earth's oceans. During the four hours Vescovo spent at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, he observed several marine creatures—one of which is a potentially new species—a plastic bag, and candy wrappers.

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