The Drive Behind Mission #1
Plastic Pollution

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

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Click to view the "Eastern Garbage Patch" interactive map. Source: Greenpeace
Shaped by the rotating ocean currents and trade winds of the North Pacific gyre, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists of marine litter in the North Pacific Ocean. It is estimated to cover an area twice the size of the continental United States and contain around 100 million tons of marine debris, particularly plastics, all deriving from both land and ocean sources alike. Despite the immense size and density of this patch and contrary to common belief, it is not visible from satellite imagery since the particles that comprise the patch are mostly suspended in the upper water column  just below the surface, hidden from the naked eye and satellite imagery. This garbage patch is formed primarily of plastic pollution gathered in ocean currents and trade winds. Every cubic meter of ocean in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has about 100 times more plastic than it did in the 1970s. Water samples taken 40 years ago that contained little or no plastic are now polluted with billions of tiny pieces of confetti-like trash, known as “plastic soup.” Since the ocean is downhill to everything, any plastic you see lying around in your community or environment will eventually find its way into a storm drain, stream or river, which ultimately leads to the ocean - the Arctic being no exception (view study). Although plastic can eventually disintegrate into smaller pieces down to the molecular level, it remains intact as a polymer and attracts persistent organic pollutants, dioxins, and DDE on top of already containing toxic chemicals, such as PBA's, styrene, and flame retardants, which can leach out and cause endocrine disruption. In the ocean, plastics act like sponges as they attract hydrophobic toxic substances. Every bit of plastic ever made still exists, with the exception of the small amount that is actually recycled or incinerated, which can spew toxic chemicals into the air we breathe. According to the EPA, only 8% of the total plastic waste generated in 2010 was recovered for recycling. Surely, we can do better. How Plastic Bottles Are Bad For Your Health
There are now 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer of the world's oceans, killing a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals each year. Learn more.