contamina contaminants. >> reporter: noah says that it hits area such as hawaii. the problem is enforcement. countries need to do a better job of cracking down on pollution. and then there is another issue. the vast ocean waters are just difficult to police. what we've seen in the last five years is an explosion in awareness. all over the world, people realize we just can't afford the convenience of single use plastics and companies have to take responsibility for what happens to their plastics after it leaves the consumer's hands. what impact will this have on the ocean? the head of the safety and security program at the university of southern california says if it broke up, the debris floor would be massive. >> you're absolutely right. the wreckage field could be spread over an extremely large distance. >> reporter: yet as pollution