What is the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?
Known as “Earth’s largest dump” or “trash island”, the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch is a swirling mass of plastic bags, bottles and other debris floating in one of the world’s major ocean vortices. Found between Hawaii and California and stretching across hundreds of miles, this humungous garbage patch presents numerous hazards to marine life because not all of the plastics degrade. Scientists have noted that some of the plastic is leaching potentially toxic chemicals into the water, while other plastics are photodegrading into smaller pieces and being ingested by aquatic organisms living near the ocean’s surface. Ultimately, and unfortunately, it all works its way back into the food chain.
