The Great Pacific Garbage Patch 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest of the five garbage accumulation zones in the world (OceanCleanup). The amount of garbage comes from the shear amount of waste that humans produce. Some may think that recycling plastic helps with this, but even the bottle caps of plastic water bottles end up in the ocean, obstructing the livelihoods of many marine life. Not only is the marine life affected, but so is the amount of dissolved oxygen in the ocean that can create a hypoxic environment for some creatures like coral and increase the amount of algae through eutrophication of the water. The National Geographic slides below demonstrate the great amount of garbage that is obstructing the ocean yet we barely ever see it or hear about it because of the way that easy business gets in the way of doing the environmentally conscience thing. 

Pictures of environmental detriments

Credit: MAP BY NOAA

Microplastics Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHEN WOOLVERTON, COURTESY WIKIMEDIA. THIS FILE IS LICENSED UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-SHARE ALIKE 3.0 UNPORTED LICENSE.

Plastic Debris Credit: PHOTOGRAPHS BY REBECCA HALE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Marine Debris Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY RAY BOLAND, NOAA. THIS FILE IS LICENSED UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 2.0 GENERIC LICENSE.

Albatross Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORDAN, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. THIS FILE IS LICENSED UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 2.0 GENERIC LICENSE.

Entangled Turtle Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY NOAA

Seal Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY RAY BOLAND, NOAA/NMFS/PIFD/ESOD. THIS FILE IS LICENSED UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 2.0 GENERIC LICENSE.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch Credit: Ocean Cleanup

See full slideshow from National Geographic

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ships

If you have ever been on a cruise ship, one of the main mysteries is where all the food and waste goes to. Well, the ocean seems to be one of the main places for the ships to empty their waste. Ocean currents carry the waste to specific zones in the ocean and islands form made of waste. In the South Atlantic, a small island called Inaccessible Island that rivals the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Much of the waste is thought to come from Cruise ships and Chinese Merchant vessels that carry plastic for trade. The article below explains in deeper detail the current dilemma and how the trash accumulates as well as the constant "who dun it" mystery that scientists face in pinpointing the main culprit. 

Business Insider article

"Seagulls search for food near a sewage-discharge area next to piles of plastic bottles on the coast near Beirut, Lebanon, on July 19, 2018" (Business Insider). Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty/Business Insider

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How to help and learn more

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between Hawaii and California. Scientists of The Ocean Cleanup have conducted the most extensive analysis ever of this area.

-The Ocean Clean Up

The Ocean CleanUp

Donation Resources