This Artist Captured the Non-Stop Flow of Plastic Pollution Favorite 

Benjamin Von Wong’s latest art-as-activism installation looks like something Photoshopped onto reality. A large brass-looking faucet, suspended in the air, pours a river of plastic out of its spout.

The symbolism of the #TurnOffThePlasticTap installation is somehow both over-the-top and just right. It’s a screaming warning about the plastic crisis — just imagine if that faucet were active and real — and a neat distillation of what’s going on around the world as plastic pollution overwhelms marine and land ecosystems and pervades our food system, water sources, and each breath of air.

Even though awareness of plastic pollution has never been greater, the problem continues to worsen. During the COVID-19 pandemic, plastic consumption in the US increased by up to 300% compared to the previous period. Many types of pandemic-era plastic, including various types of medical gear such as single-use personal protective equipment, are hard to recycle and have gone on to pollute marine environments.

Over the next decade, plastic production is expected to increase by 40% and, as Von Wong told Global Citizen, that’s more than our planet can handle.

“We’re kind of at the breaking point where we’re incapable of processing all the plastic that we produce,” he said. “And so, we need to go back to the source and stop producing so much in the first place.

“It’s sort of like if the bath or the sink was overflowing with water and instead of trying to shut the water off, you’re just cleaning up the mess and hoping that it’s gonna be enough,” he said. “That is the symbolism of #TurnOffThePlasticTap.”