Plastic. It's set to be the major buzzword of 2018.

Last week the World Health Organisation announced it is to launch a review into the potential risks of plastic in drinking water.

It has been found in our water bottles. Scientists dripped in crimson dye, shone a light, and tiny particles of microplastics lit up like stars swirling in a galaxy.

They found typically ten plastic particles per litre of bottled water - some as large as the width of a human hair.

Pictures have also done the rounds on social media of vast islands of waste floating in the oceans.

There is so much trash now circling through the world's currents that it ends up clumped together, the debris of humanity swirled together with no plughole to send it down.

It may looks as though the problem is thousands of miles away - one eco warrior, Cal Major, has seen for herself that it's not.

She has not long returned from an expedition around the Isle of Skye, where she became the first woman to circumnavigate the island on a stand up paddleboard.

It was partly to prove to herself that she could do it - but also to showcase the growing problem of plastic waste - and just how far it can reach.

"I wanted to highlight the issue of plastic pollution and show how it is affecting these remote wild and beautiful places we think are untouched," says Cal.

"It was quite a feat, more so than I expected it to be."

While many visitors see the beauty of inland Skye, Cal, 29, says nothing prepared her for the sheer amount of plastic waste she discovered in hard to reach areas.

"I was paddling into where places people couldn't easily get too," says Cal. "These beaches were littered with rubbish washed in from the sea.

"A lot of people see inland Skye, the beauty, the cleanliness. The remote beaches though, were absolutely horrific."

"I didn't realise it would be so bad," adds Cal. "On one beach, you could hardly even see the sand."

Cal said she saw old fishing ropes and heaps of packaging and plastic bottles.

"It was on every single beach that I went on to a lesser or greater extent, and in the ocean," she says.

"It was so much worse than what I was expecting, It was heartbreaking to see."

As a qualified vet from Edinburgh University, Cal was quick to spot the effect the plastics had on the local animal population too.

She witnessed a cow on one of the beaches chewing a fishing net, struggling to get it out of its mouth.

"I felt helpless as a vet being stuck there unable to help," says Cal, who eventually managed to distract the cow long enough to free it from the net.

Cal filmed the cow and the plastic she saw in an attempt to raise awareness of the problem.

She is the founder of Paddle Against Plastic, a project aiming to inspire others to care for the environment through adventure, and paddle boards to spread the word about her cause.

With a deep love for the ocean, she is keen to encourage others to get involved with protecting it.

"I'm asking people to care about the issue, be it the animals, the ocean or just how disgusting it is making the beaches," she says.

"It can seem like this huge overwhelming plastic, but there are things the individual can do."

London is trialling free water bottle refills in a bid to reduce plastic waste and straws have become the latest target in the Government's war on plastic, following a crackdown on single-use carrier bags and disposable coffee cups.

People have also been buying vegetables that are not pre-packaged and bringing in reusable cups to coffee chains.

"People are beginning to put pressure on the supermarkets and big brands," says Cal.

"The more we use plastics on land, the more it ends up in the sea and it's not a problem far away from us. Each of us has the possibility to do harm, but also to do good and make those changes and make an impact."

Cal's documentary, Skye's the Limit, capturing her journey has already received several awards and will be shown at no less than seven film festivals this year.

"I strongly believe that the more people who talk about it, become engaged on whatever level they can, it can make a difference," she says.

"In May I'm going to attempt to Paddle Board from Lands End to John O' Groats. It's going to take four months, but it's to show no matter where we go, we're not that far from the issue."

"It's really easy to feel doom and gloom about this, but we need to stay positive as so much positive change is happening and we can feel proud to be part of that," Cal adds.

"It stems from connecting people to the environment really. The more we reconnect to our natural environment the more we will love it and want to protect it."

For more information on Cal's journey or to watch the documentary you can visit the Paddle Against Plastic website.