The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a large patch of debris in the Pacific Ocean, located in a huge area of swirling water somewhere between Hawaii and California. This mass of debris was discovered in 1997 by sea captain named Charles Moore, who happened to sail into it.
I am sure he must have been in disbelief at the size of the garbage patch he encountered! Ships that venture into this area have reported miles and miles of visible trash “as far as the eye can see”! No one really knows how big this trash dump actually is because most of the debris is made up of particles that are not visible by satellite. Although no scientific estimates exist for the size of this mass, we know it is a lot of trash!

How in the world was a garbage patch formed in the middle of the ocean? Most of the debris is made up of man-made trash that found its way into the ocean, such as plastic materials and fishing gear. The currents of the North Pacific gyre pull the floating trash into the vortex, acting much like a flushing commode! It is then trapped by the swirling waters and the mass continues to grow larger as more trash is sucked in.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not only an eyesore, it presents a real threat to the marine life in the ocean. This garbage is not a natural part of the delicate ecosystem that occurs in the ocean. The risks to marine life range from chemicals leaching into the water they swim in, to ingesting the trash and blocking their digestive system, to getting their bodies entangled in the discarded fishing nets.

A solution to this huge mess may seem like it is beyond our control, considering that the Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest and deepest ocean and the size of the garbage mass is unknown, cleaning it up would be close to impossible. The effort to dispose of the debris would take an astronomical amount of time, energy and resources.

What is the world actually doing to make this garbage patch disappear? Although it will probably never disappear, there are several tactics in place to help to keep the garbage patch from growing larger. Fishing For Energy is an example of one of the strategies used to reduce the amount of fishing gear that ends up in the ocean waters. If we continue to educate the public about this problem, more people will become aware of the garbage dumped into the ocean and many could switch from using disposable plastic products, to using biodegradable products. We can make a difference by reusing and recycling the waste we produce. Perhaps our children will see the end of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.