The Facts
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a collection of garbage that ends up in the North Pacific Ocean. The patch is composed of two main bodies being the western patch which is located near Japan, and the eastern patch which is located between Hawaii, and California. This is an area of subtropical winds, and strong ocean currents where the debris gets trapped by the strong atmospheric, and oceanic forces. As a result, marine debris gets swept into the GPGP, and is unable to escape creating the massive patches of garbage.
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch made of?
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of all kinds of garbage, however, the most common type of garbage is plastic. Approximately 90% of the garbage in the GPGP is plastic. According to The United Nations Environment Program, for every square mile of ocean of the GPGP, there are 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. Ocean plastic is classified in one of two categories being hard plastic or micorbeads. Hard plastic are the items that you can see floating in the water such as bottles, wrappers, and bags. Microbeads are the tiny pieces of plastic that are used in many beauty/hygiene products such as toothpaste, soaps, and detergents. Microbeads also result from the remains of broken down plastic.