2,500,000 km2 – this is the size of the garbage island that formed almost 50 years ago in the Pacific Ocean. The area of the garbage patch is increasing every year, because the amount of waste produced by mankind is growing extremely fast. Moreover, there are several such garbage islands in the world’s oceans: one 500 nautical miles off the California coast, near Hawaii, and another in the eastern Pacific, near Japan.
It all began with the indispensable plastic in the home, which after its appearance has won the love of the world. People thoughtlessly threw away plastic products and bought new ones. Significant trash contributions are regularly made by ships, from which containers of waste are blown off during storms by the wind; it is not uncommon for people to deliberately throw trash overboard. Waste is also washed into the ocean during natural disasters. For example, during the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, the Japanese government estimated that 4.5 million tons of waste ended up in the sea. The trash ended up in the ocean, where major currents knocked the plastic waste into garbage islands.
Unlike regular landfills, the garbage island can’t even be seen with the naked eye: the slick is invisible on satellite images; neither can sailors, because the plastic has turned into trillions of tiny particles.
Now the top of the ocean debris looks like this:
- cigarette butts;
- food wrappers;
- plastic bottles;
- bags;
- lids;
- disposable utensils;
- tubes;
- glass bottles;
- tin cans;
- paper bags.
American oceanographer Charles Moore, the discoverer of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, estimates that about 100 million tons of garbage are circling the region.
Coincidences are no coincidence: the story of the discovery of Garbage Island
Charles Moore, a young playboy and yachtsman, son of a wealthy chemical magnate, decided to take a vacation in Hawaii after his studies and test his new yacht in the ocean at the same time. The guy wanted to save time and took a shortcut, which led him to the dump.
“During the week when I went out on deck, some kind of plastic trash floated past the boat every time,” Moore wrote in his book, “Plastics are Forever?” – I couldn’t believe my eyes: how could we have littered such a huge area of water? It was a dump I had to sail through day after day, and there was no end to it….”
A cruise with tons of waste turned Moore’s life upside down: the guy sold all his stock to start the environmental organization Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which began researching the environmental health of the Pacific Ocean.
Moore urges all people to reduce their consumption of plastic and materials that are not recycled. Otherwise, the oceanologist warns, the garbage island surface area will double in the next 10 years, and it will threaten not only Hawaii, but all countries in the Pacific.
What are the dangers of garbage patches?
Plastic particles remind marine life of food. Large amounts of plastic end up in the stomachs of seabirds and animals, particularly turtles and albatrosses, leading to their deaths. Microplastics are also ingested by humans, both through the water and through food, such as sea fish.
Plastic is ingested by birds in the form of food
Is it possible to get rid of trash island?
The fight against trash islands has been ongoing since they were discovered. In May 2019, a 25-day Project Kaisei expedition fished out 40 tons of plastic trash, including 5 tons of fishing nets, which are particularly dangerous to marine animals.
Many countries around the world have already taken steps to deal with plastic and other hazardous waste. But unfortunately, the main source of ocean pollution remains China and India, where it is considered normal to dump trash directly into bodies of water.
However, we have the power to stop the growth of garbage islands! We just need to do away with plastic and disposables, replacing bags with eco-bags, disposable plates with biodegradable dishes, and plastic bottles with glass bottles. It may seem like a small step, but if many people do it, it will help defeat pollution.