--- title: Plastic Bag Found Found at Deepest Point in Ocean description: American explorer Victor Vescovo ventured 35,853 feet into Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench and saw a plastic bag and candy wrappers canonical: https://time.com/5588691/victor-vescovo-plastic-oceans/ author: Amy Gunia article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-05-14T03:00:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:31:06.563Z article:section: Science og:title: Plastic Bag Found Found at Deepest Point in Ocean og:description: Victor Vescovo ventured 35,853 feet to the bottom of the ocean and found garbage og:url: https://time.com/5588691/victor-vescovo-plastic-oceans/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67e363f5002e56c0/698949e186f68e1a786ebdce/plastic-garbage-ocean.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: plastic-garbage-ocean og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Plastic Bag Found Found at Deepest Point in Ocean twitter:description: Victor Vescovo ventured 35,853 feet to the bottom of the ocean and found garbage twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67e363f5002e56c0/698949e186f68e1a786ebdce/plastic-garbage-ocean.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # An Explorer Just Made the Deepest Ever Manned Sea Dive — and He Found a Plastic Bag > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=19c0ddcf-7716-49bb-8670-114166a182ee&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=19c0ddcf-7716-49bb-8670-114166a182ee&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Amy Gunia](https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 14, 2019 3:00 AM UTC  Garbage concentrated on Botafogo beach on the south side of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, on March 30, 2015. Garbage concentrated on Botafogo beach on the south side of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, on March 30, 2015.Bruno de Lima—AP by [Amy Gunia](https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 14, 2019 3:00 AM UTC An American explorer who set a new record for the deepest ever manned sea dive says he saw a plastic bag and candy wrappers at the [bottom of the ocean](https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/victor-vescovo-deepest-dive-pacific/index.html). Victor Vescovo, 53, visited Challenger Deep, which is the deepest known point in the ocean in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean on May 1, according to CNN. Details of his trip were released on Monday. His team said he set a new record for the deepest solo dive in history, venturing to depths of 35,853 feet. _Titanic_ director [James Cameron](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/25/james-cameron-reaches-oceans-deepest-point-7-miles-below/) held the record before Vescovo’s recent journey. Aside from plastic trash, he discovered four new species, reports CNN. The team’s scientists plan to test the creatures to see if they have ingested plastic. **Read More:** [_Environmentalists Say Tiny Plastic ‘Nurdles’ Threaten Earth’s Oceans_](http://time.com/5501065/tiny-plastic-enemy-oceans-nurdle/) His expedition was part of a Discovery Channel series on deep ocean exploration. The explorers are trying to complete sonar mapping at the five deepest spots in the world’s oceans, according to CNN. Each year, [8 million tons](http://time.com/5244682/earth-day-plastic-lego-skyscrapers/) of plastic ends up in the ocean. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5588691/victor-vescovo-plastic-oceans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5588691/victor-vescovo-plastic-oceans/"},"headline":"An Explorer Just Made the Deepest Ever Manned Sea Dive — and He Found a Plastic Bag","datePublished":"2019-05-14T03:00:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:31:06.563Z","description":"Victor Vescovo ventured 35,853 feet to the bottom of the ocean and found garbage","url":"https://time.com/5588691/victor-vescovo-plastic-oceans/","keywords":["Environment","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67e363f5002e56c0/698949e186f68e1a786ebdce/plastic-garbage-ocean.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67e363f5002e56c0/698949e186f68e1a786ebdce/plastic-garbage-ocean.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"plastic-garbage-ocean","caption":"Large amount of accumulated garbage, concentrated on Botafogo beach on the south side of Rio de Janeiro","creditText":"Bruno de Lima—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5588691/victor-vescovo-plastic-oceans/","name":"An Explorer Just Made the Deepest Ever Manned Sea Dive — and He Found a Plastic Bag"}}]}] ```