A swirling island of garbage has emerged in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, cobbled together out of Pacific Rim waste, poisoning birds who mistake its plastic for food. Now a design firm wants to make it a real island.

They call their project "Recycled Island," and it would be created by converting all the plastic from garbage island into flotation banks and aquaculture farms. The designers imagine that a small city could thrive there. Can it be done?

Learn more about this speculative geo-engineering project via Recycled Island