The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
It may seem like no big deal to leave a plastic water bottle or candy wrapper on the beach or other body of water, but the truth is, it is a big deal. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch proves just how big of a deal it is. It is as big as the state of Texas and is made up of plastics and other debris. It is located between California and Hawaii. While this garbage patch is not the only one, it is the largest. Scientists say it takes about six years for a piece of trash from America to reach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and about one year for a piece of trash from Japan to get there.
The ocean currents naturally push debris to this location. The pieces that are not biodegradable can’t break down so they stay there, polluting the water. While plastics are not biodegradable, they do break down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. That means that garbage patch is not solid matter but in fact a soupy mess of plastics. Animals that swim through the patch often end up with these plastics in their systems.
We all know that plastic is not food. Turtles confuse plastic bags for jellyfish. Often birds confuse bottle caps for food. They eat them but can’t digest them, so their stomachs fill with plastic. They feel full but their bodies can’t process the plastic so they starve to death, even though they continue trying to eat. Fish on the low end of the food chain also eat these tiny bits of plastic, and are then eaten by larger fish – which we catch and eat. So we are basically eating our own garbage in addition to making other animals sick with it.