The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: And what we can do to help!

The largest landfill in the world is surprisingly not located in land, but located in the middle of the ocean! The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of the largest landfill in the world, consisting of millions of pounds of trash, 80% plastic and it’s all located among marine life. 

200-pound of tangle rope found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
(Photo credit: Lindsey Hoshaw)

How did this trash get there?

One of the ocean gyre is located between the U.S states of Hawaii and California; it is a circular ocean formed by the Earths wind pattern, and the rotation of the Earth. The ocean gyre draws the trash to the center where it gets trapped between two main gyres and eventually builds up to what it has become today. Most of the trash consists of plastic which is not biodegradable. Biodegradable means it’s capable of being decompose and can break down easily. Unfortunately most of the debris consists of 80% of plastic, which comes from our hands. 

Location of The Great Pacific Gyre (where the Garbage Patch is located), along with the other four garbage patches in the world.
 (Photo credit: Fangz)

There is about 750,000 bits of plastic in a single square kilometer of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Plastic has been the greatest concern since it’s not biodegradable; plastic bottles last forever. Every single piece of plastic ever made is still on the planet, it doesn't go away.  Plastic products have endangered our marine life. Marine animals have been strangled by plastic rings, and many animals have mistaken their food for plastic bags causing them to starve and eventually die.

Sea bird with a stomach full of plastic found by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
(Photo credits: U.S Fish and Wildlife Service)

Unfortunately the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not one big mass or trash, it is not something we can just sweep up; it’s millions of little trash lands that are spread over miles, and some are even located under water. It is unknown how big the patch is, but many say that it’s as big as the size of Texas.  Sadly the Great Pacific Patch is not the only landfill in the world; there are about 4 other patches in the world. According to Discovery News there is about 315 pounds of plastic in the ocean. 

Why should I care?

The Great Pacific Patch has already killed many marine life, but its also damaging our beaches; making it impossible to swim in many of them. Trash has been accumulating in our beaches, billions of tiny plastics have been covering the beaches all around the world making it impossible to clean up. The garbage patch is also hurting tourism; the 19 island of Hawaii receive tons of trash every day. Scientist are also figuring out that when fishes eat plastic and trash it releases a poisonous toxic into their body, so when those fishes are caught and served at restaurant and its eaten by us, that poisonous toxic is also spread through out our body as well. This topic greatly concerned me; not many are aware of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. We should all be informed; we should take care of our animals, earth, and ourselves as well. If we all know what was going on in our oceans, we would all make a change. Let's inform others, and make a change together!

Clean Lanikai Beach, Oahu-Hawaii
(Photo credit: Vlachos)

What can I do to help?

Some scientist say that it’s impossible to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch since it’s too large, and too “broken down.” Project Kaisei is a non-profit organization located in San Francisco who has been trying to find a method to collect a large amount of trash without hurting marine life. The best thing to do now is to stop producing it. There are lots of different ways to stop the patch from growing; here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Properly recycle everything you can!!
2. Choose items with less packaging.
3. Inspire your co-workers, friends, and family member to help stop the debris.
4. Use reusable bags when you go shopping.
5. Bring your own containers, don’t use disposable ones.
6. Don’t keep silence, speak out. Inform everyone you know; email your representative, tell them to stop throwing trash into our oceans. You can make a difference! Let’s make a change.      

                                        

internet sources: 
http://greatpacificgarbagepatch.info/
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacific-ocean-garbage-patch