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Life-size whale breaks record for largest recycled plastic sculpture

By Wade Sheridan
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May 21 (UPI) -- A life-size whale sculpture, located at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in San Francisco, has been deemed the largest recycled plastic sculpture by Guinness World Records.

The sculpture, which was made to highlight the issue of ocean pollution and the amount of plastic that gets dumped into the sea, is made up of recycled materials such as plastic bottles, re-used toys and milk jugs, among other items.

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The whale has measurements of 84 feet, 11.6 inches long; 26 feet, 5.8 inches wide and reaches a height of 13 feet, 9.6 inches tall.

Local artists Joel Dean Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova designed the whale and attempted to make it as life-like as possible. Guinness World Records released a video on YouTube of the whale's construction and the process of using recycled plastic.

"Every nine minutes 300,000 pounds of plastic-- the weight of a blue whale -- makes its way into the ocean," an aquarium spokesperson said.

"To draw attention to this enormous problem, we built this life-sized installation to get the word out and educate people. It allows people to interact with the sculpture and experience the issue to scale."

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