AS IF swimming 9000 kilometres from Japan to the US is not enough of a challenge, Richard Pain is also planning to plough through the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mass of plastic junk almost the size of the Northern Territory.

"I realise it's completely mad," said the filmmaker, 45, who is selling his Randwick home to raise some of the money needed for the project.

Global warning... Richard Pain, 45, a Sydney film-maker and environmentalist, is planning to swim 9000 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean. Credit:Nick Moir

"But I'm aware there is a lot of green fatigue in the broader population. This is a way to try and raise awareness by doing something more compelling. It's like trying to do an environmental version of Super Size Me."

Mr Pain, a keen ocean swimmer and environmentalist, said he was unfazed by the fact no one had ever managed to swim across the Pacific.