Is it true that there’s a solid island of plastic in the ocean, visible from space?

This claim is certainly false. There are no “plastic islands” in the ocean which are the size of continents or even countries. While there’s no doubt that plastic pollutes the oceans – just as it does rivers, lakes, the soil, and the air – plastic on the ocean’s surface is not concentrated enough to form big islands. Plastic accumulation zones on the surface of the sea are also not easily visible from space. Nevertheless, advanced satellite data and machine learning can help scientists identify areas of elevated plastic pollution.