The Pacific trash vortex is an illusion to the modern governments of today that have the power to pose impacts. A problem directly contributed by wealthy coastal nations: Japan, United States, China, etc. Floating debris can absorb organic pollutants from seawater which when ingested result in toxic and harmful effects to the organism and those that consume them (humans, marine life, zooplankton). Some of these release organic pollutants which are mistaken by the endocrine system causing hormone disruption in the affected animal. if the pollutants don't kill the organism, they will be severely damaged and/or have an extremely diminished quality of life.
Ideonella sakaiensis is a newly discovered bacterium studied consuming plastics and breaking them down via the enzymes PETase and MHETase. These are extremely uncommon enzymes to find in such a chain that can break polymers such as plastic. These bacteria are easily grown and can thrive in the ocean. No estimates have been made for a time period or a cost but this raises the question on whether it is okay to capitalize on living organisms such as bacterium to promote another cause, even environmentalism.
TL;DR: We caused a trash heap to infect our ecosystem and it hurts humans and other life, but is it okay to prioritize their lives by growing organisms to save them?