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What are some Facts about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

Facts About the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Where is the Pacific Garbage Patch? How much Garbage exists in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?


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What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

• It’s a pile of garbage that floats in the ocean which connects the Hawaiian Islands and Oregon.
• It constantly moves and sometimes reached masses of lands.
• It is avoided by fishermen because of its great amount of garbage.
• It’s composed of planktons (1 lb) and plastic materials (6 lbs) based on its measurement 11 years ago.
• Its total size is similar to the total area of the state of Texas.
• It reminds the whole world of its huge problem when it comes to fluvial waste management.

Why does the patch still exists?

This pile of garbage is still present in the ocean because of water currents. These currents move from left to right because of the force exerted by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and results to a whirlpool which acts like a huge vacuum cleaner in the ocean that attracts any amount of garbage in the water especially plastics.

The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is brought about by the equator’s hot air which eventually acquires a lower temperature as it proceeds to the north direction. This particular characteristic makes the gyre stable. Actually, a lot of gyres can be found worldwide and they are notorious because of their lack of wind power and fishes to be caught

The Harmful Effects Caused by the Patch:

• The patch contains harmful toxins from its plastic materials.
• It poisons marine creatures and even birds since any animal would assume that the patch is a wide land of food in the ocean.
• It decreases the number of photosynthetic organisms since it blocks the rays of the sun from reaching most part of the sea.

Facts about the patch in several newspapers were advertised to people in the year 2006. A few experts believe the action was done a little bit too late since the patch has already grown large. However, companies and individuals still need to know about the garbage’s existence for them to limit their own wastes and make this world a healthier place to live in.

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