Great Pacific Garbage Patch Newspaper

You’re a part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

We all know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but do you really know how much impact humanity has on it? Up to 80% of rubbish in the ocean is because of inland rubbish. The garbage we produce that ends up in the ocean downgrades into very small pieces of rubbish called Microplastics ending up in Marine life transferring to Humans. In 2015, Dutch researchers found that the number of marine species that swallow or get caught in plastic had doubled since 1997: from 267 to 557. 

In recent years, this patch has grown to a monstrous size. It has been recorded that it is about two times the size of Texas and Three times the size of France! Researchers found that most of the mass is the large debris getting ready to decompose into Microplastics. Microplastics are smaller than a bottle cap, they are not immediately noticeable to the naked eye. They are described to be small as pepper flakes. Scientists have said that they don’t know the exact amount of Marine Debris because of The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The gyre is simply too big for the scientists to search thoroughly. “"Yet as I gazed from the deck at the surface of what ought to have been a pristine ocean, I was confronted, as far as the eye could see, with the sight of plastic.” - Capt. Charles Moore, discoverer of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, in an article for Natural History magazine in 2003

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is unable to be seen from

space because the Microplastics float just

below the surface and the big plastics reflect light. Microplastics are often mistaken for food by Marine Animals. Meaning when those animals have been eaten by Humans it transfers into the Humans. In addition, chemicals are often mixed into the plastic during the production process These chemicals

can in turn leak from the plastic, even when that plastic is inside the body of an animal.

Don’t get too scared because of the Microplastics, Marine Debris Program has recorded that it might not have such a big impact on Humans. Microplastics are often included in everyday items that us Humans breathe, drink or eat such as sea salt, tap water, beer, and even honey. Plastic microfibers can also be transported in the air and found in household dust (e.g., from furniture, carpet, clothing etc.) So it's a very small percentage for it to badly affect Humans.

Original Format: Newspaper