GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH FACTS & SIZE, 2020

What is the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? 

• The largest trash site on the planet is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located in The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre 
• The marine garbage patch is twice the surface area of Texas it outnumbers sea life there 6 to 1. 
• The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is 20 million square kilometres, created by four currents (North Pacific, Kuroshio, North Equatorial, and the California current) 
• 80% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of debris from Asia and North America. 
• 20% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is offshore debris oil rigs, pacific cargo ships, and boaters dumping trash into the water. 705,000 tons of this is fishing nets, making up the majority of the waste. However all sorts of electricals and toys are found lost from cargo ships. 
• Millions of pieces of plastic get contained in the 5 ocean gyres, and marine wildlife is directly poisoned on this while feeding in their habitat. 
• 46% of the plastic items we create floats, it can take years of currents before ending up in the ocean's gyres. 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a floating island of debris, accumulated in the North Pacific Ocean by an extensive system of currents called gyres. It is built up from two other waste patches, the western garbage patch near Japan and the eastern garbage patch near America's west coast near California and Hawaii. 

The North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone links the east and western garbage patches, acting as a highway for waste to move from one to the other. Because of this, a small item of debris dropped near California can travel across to Japan, then eventually get sucked up by these swirling garbage patch vortexes. 

The great pacific garbage patch size is quote shocking - These patches of trash are said to be twice the size of Texas and float on the surface but do drop several meters into the ocean in places, which makes the correct size challenging to measure. The world’s largest garbage site is mainly made up of microplastics creating a vast cloud, with newer items of debris that haven’t broken down as much floating around like chunks in a soup. The great pacific garbage patch effects on marine life are extremely significant.  

Sources: Ecowatch, National Geographic, OceanCrusaders