Plastic sea

PHOTO BY NORBERT WU 

Since my previous post in on plastics, I shall continue with another post on plastic pollution. According to Captain Charles Moore, 90% of the trash found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is plastic. The Great Pacific Garbage, also known as Trash Vortex, lies between Hawaii and California. Litter gets pick up by ocean gyre current and get deposited in the centre of the gyre, where it is relatively calm. The circular motion of the gyre current traps and prevents litter from escaping, resulting in an accumulation of ocean debris. Although most debris may be small and very noticeable, the Pacific Trash Vortex is estimated to be larger than Texas (NOAA, 2013). 

SOURCE: GREENPEACE

The tricky part to cleaning up our mess is how not to further harm marine wildlife. Angelicque White, a scientist from Oregon State University, points out that plankton will be remove from the ocean when we try to fish out all the trash, thus further affecting the marine ecosystem. Why than should we go through all the complicated measure when we can start reducing our waste instead?

"The problem is that the barriers to gyre cleanup are so massive that the vast majority of the scientific and advocacy community believe it’s a fool’s errand – the ocean is big, the plastic harvested is near worthless, and sea life would be harmed. The solutions starts on land" (Wilson, 2013)

References:

NOAA (2013). How Big Is the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"? Science vs. Myth. [ONLINE] Available at:http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/how-big-great-pacific-garbage-patch-science-vs-myth.html. [Accessed 05 September 14].

Wilson, S. (2013). The Fallacy of Cleaning the Gyres of Plastic With a Floating "Ocean Cleanup Array" Read more: The Fallacy of Cleaning the Gyres of Plastic With a Floating "Ocean Cleanup Array" . [ONLINE] Available at: http://inhabitat.com/the-fallacy-of-cleaning-the-gyres-of-plastic-with-a-floating-ocean-cleanup-array/. [Accessed 05 September 14].