A Look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

What to Tell Your Children about the Growing Isle of Ocean Garbage

May 6, 2009 Kirsti A. Dyer

There is a growing problem lurking off the Pacific Coast - a large floating island of debris, two times the size of Texas created from an abundance of plastics and trash.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a growing isle of ocean garbage created from the use of non-biodegradable plastics and our throw-away mentality when it comes to trash. This abundance of marine debris is an appalling ecological mess that needs to be reduced before it becomes a nightmare legacy left for our children.

To do something about this problem, concerned parents can educate themselves and their children about the problem and then learn about simple ways they can reduce their impact on the isle of trash.

In the May-June 2009 issue of Sierra Magazine, David Ferris writes about the growing problem of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in an article aptly entitled "Message in a Bottle." He interviewed Captain Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation who came upon the Pacific Ocean Garbage Island during a 1997 expedition through the North Pacific Gyre.

The Scope of the Pacific Garbage Patch

Captain Moore is one of a small group of biologists, bureaucrats, and activists who are working on the growing ocean garbage problem. Estimates place the size of this floating island of garbage, debris or flotsam to be two to three times the size of Texas or 5 million square miles containing 100 million tons of debris. Some estimates place the size of the Pacific Garbage Patch at one and a half times the size of the United States. That is an awful lot of trash.

This growing island of garbage is mostly the result of garbage coming from land-based sources and a smaller amount coming from trash being tossed by ships at sea. The garbage gets washed up on shore, impacts our wildlife which in turn impacts people via the food chain.

The Sources of the Ocean Debris

Much of the garbage comes from land-based sources, starting as the plastic bags and plastic bottles that are used every day and thrown away. Garbage and debris in the ocean starts out way before reaching the ocean; this garbage frequently finds its way from streams, rivers and storm drains that lead to the ocean. Researchers from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation estimated based on results from a 2005 study that 2.3 billion individual pieces of trash or a total of 60 tons of trash were making their way into the ocean from two Southern California Rivers, the Los Angeles and San Gabriel.

Leading Sources of Pacific Ocean Trash

In September 2008, the Ocean Conservancy held one of their International Coastal Cleanups. They kept track of the most common types of debris found world wide. The leading sources of trash found include:

Cigarettes and filters
Plastic bags
Food wrappers and containers
Caps and lids
Plastic bottles
Paper bags
Straws and stirrers
Cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons
Glass bottles
Drink cans

As part of their cleanup more than 3,000,000 cigarettes and filters were picked up, more than 1,000,000 plastic bags and nearly 1,000,000 food wrappers and containers. The 10 items picked up during their International Coastal Cleanup have remained the same over the past five years. What is frustrating is that many of these leading trash items are recyclable.

The Impact on Marine Life

All of this ocean garbage is having a deadly impact on the marine wild life. The marine animals mistake the brightly-colored garbage for food, filling their stomachs with plastics and end up dying from blockage of their intestines, malnutrition or being poisoned by the plastics. What impacts the marine life, ultimately impacts people as well by impacting the food chain.

Making a Difference by Reducing, Reusing and Recycling

Reduce, Recycle and Reuse are the three things that are going to make a difference in diminishing the size of the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.

Reduce purchasing plastic products and avoid buying products with excessive packaging, especially disposable ones. Knowing the types of trash that are making their way to the ocean is one way of helping to reduce the trash at the source. Say "no" to plastics.
Reuse what you can. Using a reusable tote bag in place of plastic bags can eliminate hundreds, if not thousands of plastic bags over its lifetime.
Recycle all available products. Currently only a small percentage of recyclable plastic products are actually being recycled. Encouraging people to recycle, or finding incentives to get them to recycle can make a difference.

Reducing, Recycling and Reusing will go a long way to help diminish the amount of garbage going into the oceans. More ways to minimize your impact on a Growing Pacific Garbage Patch can be found at the related Suite 101 article with 10 Ways to Reduce Plastic Use to Help the Oceans.

Organizations Helping the Ocean

These are some of the leading organizations working to help clean up the floating debris and save our oceans:

Algalita Marine Research Foundation - Marine Research, Education and Restoration
Ocean Conservancy - Start a Sea Change
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Save the Oceans - Center for the Future of the Oceans
Green Sangha - Inspiring Awakened Action

Resources

Ferris D. May/June 2009. Message in a Bottle. Sierra Magazine.

Dyer KA. 2009. 10 Ways to Reduce Plastic Use to Help the Oceans. Suite 101.

The copyright of the article A Look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in Parenting Resources is owned by Kirsti A. Dyer. Permission to republish A Look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.