Posted by Greenhome.com on June 1, 2012
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
Sea of Trash
So what’s floating out there?
While most of us probably think of a giant floating landfill when we
hear about ocean litter, in fact most of the debris in the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch isn’t actually visible to the naked eye. Instead, the
majority of the waste is made up of tiny particles of plastic suspended
at or below the surface of the water. Unlike biological waste, which decomposes into
elements like hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon that can be reused in the
environment, plastic never breaks down. Instead, when a plastic bag or
bottle ends up in the ocean, it will be physically broken into smaller
and smaller pieces, but those pieces never stop being plastic. Sampling
has shown the concentration of these bits of plastic to be extremely
high in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but because the pieces can’t
easily be seen it is difficult to judge just how widespread the
pollution is. All sorts of other waste also gets caught up in ocean
currents and deposited in the Pacific Garbage Patch, but because plastic
floats and is so abundant it makes up the vast majority of ocean
debris.
Plastic Turtle
What can you do?
These little plastic particles are nearly impossible to clean up,
which is why avoiding plastic in the first place is always one of the
best things you can do to help the environment. When possible, opt for
more eco-friendly materials like glass, metal, or ceramic instead. For
example, you can replace plastic storage containers with glass, plastic shopping bags with cloth ones, and disposable razors, pens, and bottles with reusable options.
And to help keep the plastic you do use out of the oceans (and out of
landfills), make you always recycle and support eco-friendly companies
by buying recycled products.
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