Weve all heard about Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but how much do we actually know about the effects of it and other, less well-known patches? Here are 10 facts we should know: 1. Garbage patches start because of Gyres. Gyres are regions of the oceans where water rotates in a large circular pattern. There are five major ocean gyres, namely the North Pacific, North Atlantic, Indian Ocean, South Atlantic and South Pacific. 2. The volume of plastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre has increased by 100 times over the past 40 years. 3. It is estimated that fish living in that region ingest between 12,000 and 24,000 tons of plastic each year. 4. Trash from land accounts for about 80% of marine debris, of which 65% is consumer used plastics that have not been disposed of properly. 5. Despite the vast amounts of plastic waste circulating in the oceans, the garbage patch isn’t visible in satellite photos because much of the trash floats just below the surface, or is obscured by plant and animal growth on the plastic. 6. Researchers estimated that the volume of plastic in the region between South America and the Antarctic ranges anywhere from 956 to 42,826 pieces per km squared. 7. Plastic waste in the oceans also poses more microscopic, long-term threats to marine life and the food chain. While plastics take a very long time to decompose, even hard polycarbonates biodegrade in the ocean environment. 8. As plastic in the ocean biodegrades, it releases various contaminants into the environment, including the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA). Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife. 9. The Plastic Island of the Pacific ocean is twice the size of the state of Texas and covers an area between 700,000 and 1500,000 km squared - 0.41% of the total size of the Pacific Ocean. 10. Though the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is between Japan and Hawaii, the trash can come from Canada, Asia, and the US. Do you know where your rubbish goes? #SaveOurSeaSaturday #TrashIsland
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 07:30:01 +0000
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