Chris jordan used 2.4 million pieces of plastic in his artwork gyre. these represent the number of:

Annie Barnes on November 27, 2018

These represent the number of pieces of plastic put in the ocean every hour. Jordan's piece is intended for the viewer to think about their consumption of plastic materials, and how this affects the world in general. Showing the amount of plastic that enters the ocean (simply by time), this ecological problem becomes tangible and personal, and it is expected effects of the change.