The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch and the Pacific Trash Vortex is an accumulation of manmade debris in the North Pacific Ocean located in a high pressure area between Hawaii and California. This area is in the middle of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. An ocean gyre is a circular ocean current formed by the Earth’s wind patterns and the forces created by the rotation of the planet.1 The area in the center of a gyre tends to be very calm and stable. The circular motion of the gyre draws in debris which eventually makes its way into the center of the gyre, where it becomes trapped and builds up. A similar garbage patch exists in the Atlantic Ocean, in the North Atlantic Gyre, however it is not nearly as colossal. The amount of material in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch accumulates because much of it is not biodegradable. Most plastics do not wear down, they break into small plastic pieces. When initially described, the garbage patch sounds like an island of trash floating on the oceans surface. In reality, these patches are made up of both visible debris but also garbage hidden beneath the water like an iceberg. Because of this, we cannot accurately predict the size of this “island.”1 Micro plastics which make up the majority of garbage patches cannot always be seen by the naked eye. Satellite images of oceans don’t reveal a giant patch of garbage but more a discolored ocean.2
The existence of the patch was predicted by many oceanographers and climatologists, however the actual discovery was made by a racing boat captain named Charles Moore. Moore was sailing from Hawaii to California after competing in a yachting race. While crossing the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, moore and his crew noticed millions of pieces of plastic floating in the water surrounding the ship.2 The gyre has created two large masses of ever accumulating trash, known as the Western and Eastern Pacific Garbage Patches, collectively called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Eastern patch floats between hawaii and California and hawaii.2 Scientists estimate its size as two times bigger than Texas.2The Western patch forms east of Japan and west of Hawaii. Each swirling mass of refuse is massive and collects trash from all over the world. The patches are connected in a thin 6,000 mile long current called the subtropical convergence zone.3 Research flights showed that significant amount of trash also accumulates in the convergence zone like a flowing river of garbage.3 The majority of solid waste is made up of food containers and packaging. In 2009, United States food packaging made up 29.5% of our municipal solid waste.3
We have a new country! The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
ictum fringilla
by, noah loudon