Plastic Pollution and the

Great Garbage Patch in the

Pacific Ocean

By: Brian Hollis

Pacific Ocean Facts
The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water on earth, stretching over more
than 60 million square miles ( 30% of Earths surface area)
Because it touches several different continents, including North and South
America, Australia, Antarctica and Asia, it is also the most exposed ocean to
plastic pollution.
Pollution in the Pacific Ocean has been substantially increasing as the world's
population continues to grow.
Plastic Pollution in Pacific Ocean
90% of its pollution that is visible through floating is made up of plastic
substances.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose.
There is a cluster of pollution that has come together in the Pacific Ocean that
is bigger than the United States.
Plastic Pollution hurts all types of life, especially aquatic, but also affects
variations of birds, land animals and human.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North
Pacific Ocean.
The patch is actually divided into two large masses, the eastern, which is
located between the states of California and Hawaii, and the western, which is
located around Japan.
The pollution is condensed together by currents and come together in the
convergence zone, which is where warm water from the South Pacific meets
up with cooler water from the Arctic.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch Continued
The Patch contains an estimated 7 million tons of trash residue, and is also
twice the size of Texas.
It is likely to double in the next ten years in size if drastic steps are not made to
contain and reduce it.
80% of its mass comes from land, which eventually go into rivers and trickle
into the ocean.
20% of its mass comes from oil platforms and ships.
It is the largest plastic dump on earth, including all waste dumps on land.
Most Common Items found In Great Pacific Garbage
Patch
1. Cigarettes / Cigarette Filters
2. Food Wrappers / Containers
3. Plastic Bottles
4. Plastic Bags
5. Caps / Lids
6. Cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons
7. Straws
8. Glass Bottles
9. Beverage Cans
10. Paper Bags
Plastic Making Its Way to The Patch
Plastic is used for an abundance of reasons, mainly because it is cheap and
affordable, making it popular.
80% of the debris comes from land based activities in North America and Asia,
then make its way into rivers where it eventually ends up in the ocean.
An attribute of plastic is that when it enters in the ocean and is hit by sun, it
breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces through the process of
photodegradation.
Environmental Effects on Marine Life
A simple piece of plastic may seem harmless to any type of marine life by
humans, but that is not the case at all.
Small or large, pollution is devastating to marine life.
A non-direct example is that microplastics collect together and block sunlight
from reaching plankton and algae. When those key species reduce in
populations, so does every other marine species because they have less to
eat.
Even humans are financially affected, because when there is less marine life,
seafood becomes more expensive.
Examples of Plastic Pollution Harming Marine Life.
A turtle gets its neck stuck in a plastic ring that holds soda cans together.
A small fish swallows a water bottle cap and chokes.
Turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish.
Albatrosses mistake plastic pellets for fish eggs and feed them to chicks
Seals and Sea Mammals get entangled in abandoned fishing nets.
Birds can swoop down and accidentally indulge all types of plastic pollution
such as bottle caps.
Plastic Pollution in Pacific Oceans effect on Human
Health
The plastic pollution problem affects all species in a food chain, including
humans.
The toxins transfer all down the food chain; small organisms are eaten by small
fish, which can be eaten by bigger fish, and the bigger fish can eventually be
eaten by human.
The direct toxins from plastic are lead, calcium, and mercury, which are being
found in fish that are being eaten by humans.
Some of these toxins found in the fish humans are eaten are directly linked to
cancers, birth defects and many other issues.
Where is it Coming From?
The five countries that produce the most pollution into the Pacific Ocean are all
from Asia.
Ocean Conservancy recently reported that China, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam are spewing out as much as 60 percent of the plastic
waste that enters the worlds seas.
A large reason that a lot of these leading polluting countries, is because they
are developing countries. Some of these places are growing quickly in
population and are not keeping up with their garbage treatment.
Where is it Coming From?
In fact, only 40% of trash in Asia is properly collected.
Often times people throw all their trash into a communal dump where it is
swept away by wind and thrown into the ocean.
In a developing country, a person is more likely to buy smaller bottle of
something whether it shampoo or water which creates more plastic pollution,
compared to a developed country like America, someone would buy a large
container.
Government Affect on Water Pollution
In some countries, even sanctioned dumps are intentionally located near rivers
in hope that a good amount of it can be washed away in rivers.
This is an example of weak government that needs more regulations for
garbage disposal, and if they cannot be carried out by their own country, it is
up to developed countries to step in, because their actions affect the entire
world.
Pacific Ocean Pollution From Developed Countries
Although the majority of the Pacifics pollution comes from developing
countries, China is the biggest polluter, and even America contributes a lot too.
China has been one of the quickest economically growing countries in the
world, and to get there, they ignored a lot of environmental issues.
Up until recent years, China had little to no regulations on what and how much
they dumped into the Pacific, but now as their economy is balancing, it is
becoming a larger focus of theirs.
America and the Pacific Oceans Pollution
America has improved a lot over the years on reducing its pollution of the
pacific ocean.
They are only the 20th biggest polluter of the pacific, which is somewhat
impressive in comparison of how large its population is.
The first major U.S. Law regarding water population was the Federal Pollution
Control Act of 1984.
This act eventually transformed into the Clean Water Act in 1972.
EPA involvement in Water Pollution
The EPA was created by the U.S. government in 1970 to elevate the concern of
environmental pollution.
In 1972 the EPA created the Clean Water Act.
Through Clean Water Act, the EPA established standards for wastewaters in
industry.
The EPA has put in many regulations that prevent industries from illegally
dumping into rivers or bodies of water, which prevents pollution reaching the
Pacific Ocean.
Problems of Cleaning the Pacific Pollution
A major dilemma in cleaning the Pacific Ocean is a funding issue.
Because the Great Garbage Patch is from so many different countries, no
nation will take responsibility to fund its clean up.
There is no single country that has the financial ability to clean up the ocean on
its own without going bankrupt.
Another major problem is that it is still being heavily polluted.
Because of this, there are international organizations that are working together
to help contribute to the Pacific Oceans cleanup.
Problems of Cleaning the Pacific Pollution
Many microplastics are the same size as small sea animals, therefore nets
scooping up the microplastics could also scoop up the sea animals as well.
The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administrations Marine Debris Program
predicts that even with 70 ships working for an entire year, less than one
percent of the Pacific Ocean would be cleaned.
Cleaning the Pacific Ocean
Even though the Pacific Ocean may seem doomed, there is a lot of hope for its
perseverance and recovery.
There are several growing organizations that are working to clean the Pacific
Ocean, along with all other Oceans.
Even a Norwegian Billionaire contracted a yacht that will remove 5 tons of
plastic every day.
An organization called The Ocean Cleanup has invented a device that is
planned to clean up half the Great Garbage Patch in only 5 years.
The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is a structure that has a number of U shaped barriers,
suspended by floats that push the plastic to a central point.
The design uses 12 meter sea anchors to ensure that the floating screens
move slower than the plastic.
The plastic is then removed out of the water and shipped to shore where it is
used for recycling.
The Ocean Cleanup is scheduled to run tests late this year, and will begin to
run full production in early 2018.
How to Keep the Pacific Clean
To Clean the Pacific Ocean, people must stop continuing to pollute it.
Land Based industries need more regulations on garbage collection and its
garbage dumps / landfills.
Industries need to start cutting back on pollutant resources such as plastic, and
become more resource efficient.
Individuals need to have more stewardship towards their planet and
environment and become more sustainable.
Concluding Thoughts
After all is said and done, the cleanliness of the Pacific Ocean comes down to
the individual responsibility of humans.
It is important for humans to vote for politicians who will fight to help the
environment and cut back on pollution.
But most Importantly, to make this planet the best it can be, all individual
humans must do their part and pull their weight when it comes to recycling,
taking care of their garbage, and being resource efficient. Stewardship is the
most important factor.
Reference Slide
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. How Big Is the Pacific Ocean? NOAA Ocean
Explorer Podcast RSS, 17 June 2015, oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/pacific-size.html.
Statistics on Pollution in the Pacific Ocean. Home Guides | SF Gate, homeguides.sfgate.com/statistics-pollution-pacific-ocean-
79352.html.
Statistics on Pollution in the Pacific Ocean. Statistics on Pollution in the Pacific Ocean | Education - Seattle PI,
education.seattlepi.com/statistics-pollution-pacific-ocean-6027.html.
Facts. Garbage Patch - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and Other Pollution Issues,
garbagepatch.net/greatpacificoceangarbagepatchfacts/.
Society, National Geographic. Great Pacific Garbage Patch. National Geographic Society, 9 Oct. 2012,
www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/.
5 Countries Dump More Plastic into the Oceans than the Rest of the World Combined.Public Radio International,
www.pri.org/stories/2016-01-13/5-countries-dump-more-plastic-oceans-rest-world-combined.
Summary of the Clean Water Act. EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 7 Aug. 2017, www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-
clean-water-act.
Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health. Case Studies, 14 Nov. 2016,
serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/plastics.html.