Often referred to as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” or “Garbage Island,” there is an accumulation of plastic debris swirling in the Pacific Ocean. Captain Charles Moore discovered the garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean in 2001 when he was sailing across from California to Hawaii (1). To make matters worse, we have since discovered that there are actually 5 such accumulations – at the center of what are called “gyres” in the ocean. Gyres are swirling currents located in the five major oceans – North and South Pacific, North and South Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. They concentrate any plastic trash that enters the ocean either from boats or from land, often via rivers and storm runoff.

So, you may ask, if the plastic is all concentrated in five neat gyre locations, why not just collect it all at once, and clean the ocean that way? It’s not that simple. There are pieces of trash of all shapes and sizes, from items as large as cars (“macroplastic”) to items even smaller than the ball point on the tip of your pen (“microplastic”). As Marcus Eriksen from the 5 Gyres Organization describes, it is like a plastic smog. You can’t clean it out of the water, and it’s everywhere—at the surface to thousands of feet below, swirling like a plastic soup. Experts have recently been able to estimate how much plastic there is in the ocean – over 5 trillion pieces (2)! In total, all the plastic in the ocean weighs over 250,000 tons – that’s like 20,000 semi-trucks.

Even if the ocean isn’t your thing, plastic pollution in the ocean is a human health issue. Many of these microplastics are eaten by the tiniest ocean creatures, called zooplankton, and the plastic makes its way up the food chain into fish. Eventually, humans eat these fish; fish are also used in feed for livestock. So, even if you don’t eat seafood, you are eating the plastic that was swirling around in the ocean not too long ago. Plastic contains thousands of chemicals, some of which have been verified to cause harm (3) and most of which haven’t even been studied but are likely equally as harmful. The chemicals in plastic can mess with your hormones, and even cause cancer. You don’t want to eat this stuff!

What Progress Has Been Made?

Many organizations are attempting to clean up the plastic from the ocean. They are doing things like capturing floating fishing nets and other larger debris lost at sea. The Ocean Cleanup implements ships with large nets that skim the water to scoop out plastic. However, these large ships cost a lot of money to deploy and consume a lot of fossil fuels; that contributes to climate change, which is also bad! Marine organisms are often caught in the nets as they scoop out plastic, creating unnecessary death. Plus, the Ocean Clean Up nets are not able to remove the smallest particles, microplastics, which are the ones that make their way up the food chain and into humans. In addition, local beach cleanups all over the country, and the world, attempt to prevent trash from making its way into the ocean. Organizations like Surfrider Foundation and Ocean Defenders Alliance use volunteer power to collect trash multiple times a month all over the world.

These are all great efforts, and innovation is necessary to tackle the problem, but they are not enough. The only way to prevent plastic from making its way into the ocean and killing marine life is by stopping it at its source – us! Each day, around 8 million pieces (2) of plastic enters the ocean!

In the United States alone:
• 3,000,000 plastic bottles are used every hour
• 500 million plastic straws are used each day
• 1,000,000 grocery bags are used each minute
• 40 billion plastic utensils are used each year (4)

It is not a long-term solution to try to recycle all of the plastic that already exists. Nor is it practical to think we can clean the microplastic particles out of the ocean. We simply must force corporations to stop making it. If they keep making it, people will keep using it. It is just so convenient! Organizations like 5 Gyres and Algalita, founded by the infamous Captain Charles Moore, actively research the plastic pollution problem, and then use the information they learn to inform policymakers. They are working to combat the global health crisis that is plastic pollution via research, education, and public outreach. Neither of these organizations believe we can clean our way out of this mess – instead, they emphasize a change in behavior that involves reducing our plastic consumption and fixing a broken system of waste management. Algalita focuses on working with young people and getting them in touch with scientists and politicians to have conversations about plastic consumption. Both organizations have ample volunteer opportunities for people of all ages to help.

What Can I Do?

There are many things individuals can do to reduce their plastic consumption – reusable bags, cups, utensils, straws, and to-go containers. There are so many beautiful products that can replace your single-use items made from bamboo, glass, and metal. Never litter, and always pick up trash when you see it. Simple things like cutting plastic beverage rings and the ear loops on single use masks before disposal help prevent accidental entanglement if the garbage enters the ocean. And of course, shopping at your local zero-waste stores!

However, the burden of plastic pollution truly lies with larger corporations like beverage companies, grocery stores, and plastic manufacturers. Therefore, pressuring local and state governments to implement laws that ban the use of plastic bags, Styrofoam, and other unnecessary single-use products is the best way to prevent further accumulation in the ocean.

A successful example of a plastic reducing law is the microbead ban that went into place July 1, 2017, in the United States, spearheaded by 5 Gyres. This ban prohibited sale of rinse-off cosmetics that contain plastic microbeads. Instead, cosmetic products use natural abrasives such as apricot or almond shells. So, you can still get a nice facial without causing harm to the environment!

If you want to get more involved, support organizations like 5 Gyres, Algalita, and Surfrider. When you see a petition floating around on the internet that mentions banning single use plastics, sign it! Your voice matters – you have the power to leave a positive impact on the environment. Tell your friends and family about the issue, and why they should care! Don’t lose hope and don’t give up, even the smallest changes can make a big difference!

1. Moore, C. J., Moore, S. L., Leecaster, M. K. & Weisberg, S. B. A Comparison of Plastic and Plankton in the North Pacific Central Gyre. Marine Pollution Bulletin 42, 1297–1300 (2001). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X0100114X

2. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913&xid=17259 ,15700021,15700124,15700149,15700168,15700173,15700186,15700191,15700201

3. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/9-ways-avoid-hormone-disrupting-chemicals

4. https://www.5gyres.org

5. https://algalita.org

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Recipe: Vegetarian Lentil Soup