Analysis Of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

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The plastic apocalypse is upon us. Our oceans are currently burdened by massive expanses of floating plastic products and shreds extending farther than the eye can see in multiple locations. The biggest of these, located in the North Pacific Ocean,1 is known by many as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This dangerous collection of trash is surrounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre,1 or a series of circling currents located in the Southern Hemisphere that carry plastics and other slow-degrading garbage and trap them inside its bounds.2 This specific Garbage Patch stretches from North America to Japan and the plastic-to-water ratio varies throughout.1 Because of this phenomenon, plastic is being distributed throughout oceans and deposited …show more content…

According to Laura Parker, a Senior Staff Writer for National Geographic, 40% of plastic is manufactured for single use, and 91% of all plastic manufactured never gets recycled.3 One of the most detrimental types of single-use plastics are microbeads, tiny plastic bits used in various cosmetic products that get washed into sewer systems and ultimately end up in our oceans. Other plastic products also become as small as some microbeads over time through the process of degradation, which turns otherwise-large plastic products into dangerous microplastics. The problem of microplastics was first realized in 2004, and the first assessment of its prominence was carried out as recently as 2015.3 As for the dilemma of the Garbage Patch itself, it was brought to the world’s attention by Charles Moore who discovered the patch in …show more content…

But, both large and small pieces of marine debris are known to reach depths of 100 feet.7 A 20-year study indicated that the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea have approximately 200,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer. And, according to the United Nations, there are an estimated 5 to 10 million tons of plastic floating through the ocean between California and

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