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NatalyDiaz
JoshBrower
SeniorInternship
December17,2015

SeniorActionResearchPaper
Introduction:
Iwantyoutoputyourhandinthisgloveandgrabyourtrash!Trashissomethingthat
nooneliketotalk,touch,smelloreventhinkabout.Itsagatheringofunwantedobjectsthatyou
disposeof,butmanyteensinourgenerationstodayarentfullyawareoftheconsequencesthat
comeswithnotdisposingtrashproperly.Theythinkthatitjustgetspickedupbythecustodians,
janitors,wastetechnicians,wastemanagementworkers.Iknewaboutthegarbagepatchesinour
oceansbeforemyinternship,IstartedtobemorecarefulofwhenIdisposedoftrash,and
watchedmyfamily'schoicesclosely.
Whenstartingmyinternshipmymentorsmentionedthattheywerecontractedbythecity
ofOceansideworkingonimplementingazerowasteprogramattheOceansideHighSchool.The
firstdaywewereontheschoolcampusweweregivinglessonstothestudentsabouthowthereis
consequencesintheactionofthemnotthrowingawaytheirtrashproperly.Ithoughtthatit
wouldbeaperfectideatofocusongarbage,Iwouldhaveaneasyaccessibilitytogatherdataon
students,andconnectionsfrommymentors.KnowingIhadenoughbackupIcameupwithmy
essentialquestiontostartbrainstormingideasonhowIwouldwritearesearchpaper,HowcanI
maketeenscareaboutthegarbagepatchesandprotectourwaterways?

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Background:
Atotalof5garbagepatchesarefloatinginourworld'soceans.Thesegarbagepatchesare
formedbymarinedebrisintheNorthPacific,SouthPacific,NorthAtlantic,SouthAtlantic,and
IndianOcean.ThemostcommononethatistalkedaboutistheGreatNorthPacificgarbagegyre
thatislocatedbetweenHawaiiandCaliforniaandisalsothebiggestofthe5.Itwasfoundback
in1999byCharlesMoorewhilehewasracingintheTranspacsailingrace.Hehadnoticedthe
waterwasdifferent,thedebrisintheoceanismicroscopic,notvisibletothenakedhumaneye,
underallthatmicroscopicdebrisarebiggerpiecesoftrashthathaveslowlystartedtosinktoour
oceanfloors.ThepatchisactuallycomprisedoftheWesternGarbagePatch,locatednearJapan,
andtheEasternGarbagePatch,locatedbetweentheU.S.statesofHawaiiandCalifornia.
ThegarbagepatchesareformedbytheNorthPacificSubtropicalGyre,agyreisacurrent
formedbythewindandtherotationofEarth.TheNorthPacificSubtropicalGyreiscreatedby
theinteractionoftheCalifornia,NorthEquatorial,Kuroshio,andNorthPacificcurrents.These
fourcurrentsmoveinaclockwisedirectionaroundanareaof20millionsquarekilometers.The
debristhatgathersinthegarbagepatchesisnonbiodegradable,mostofitjustbreaksdowninto
smallerpieces.Seventypercentofthegarbagethatmakesitoutintothegarbagepatchessinks
downontoouroceanfloorsharmingthesealifethatliveinourbeautifuloceans.Eightypercent
ofthetrashinthegarbagepatchescouldhavebeenthrownawayorrecycledproperlybutinstead
itcomesstraightoffoflandtoremaininthesea.Thebiggestcomponentingarbagegyresis
plastic,alotofplasticthatcanberecycled,andplasticwrappersthatdontdisintegrate.I
wonderedhowtheplasticbrokedownintosmallerpieces,thesunworksareasourceofbreaking
downthenonbiodegradableplasticintomicroscopicpieces.

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Thegenerationweliveinissohookedonthemedia,thattheoutsideworldisnothingto
them.Iwanttomakemygenerationandgenerationsyoungerthanmerealizehowbigofa
problemthesegarbagepatchesare,oursealife,ourresources,ourfuturereliesonouracting
today.Iftheteensandkidsoftodayarewellinformedabouthowtheyharmourenvironment
theycouldmakeanimpactintheworldbydoingsomethinggoodfortheenvironmentrather
thanmakingaproblembigger.
Cleaningupthegarbagepatchwouldbeagreatstartbut,whowouldcleanitup?The
garbagepatchisbetween2countriesandbothdecidedthatitisnottheirresponsibilitytotake
ownershipofitandcleaningitoutandneitherwouldputdownacentforanyoneelsetocleanit
out.AlsotogetridoftheGreatNorthPacificgarbagepatch,whoeverdoestakechargewould
havetoputinalotofmoney.Thereareorganizationsthathavestartedtoinvesttheirtimeto
preventthegarbagepatchfromgrowinganybigger.TheGreatNorthPacificgarbagepatchis
twiceasbigasthestateofTexas,thatisahugegarbagepatch,thesuppliesneededtodecrease
theamountofmarinedebriswouldcosttoomuchmoney.
Ifteachingteensandtheyoungergenerationsinformingthemabouthowmuchharmis
beingdonetoourenvironment,theywillhopefullygetinspiredtoeitherpetitiontogetridofthe
plasticwrappers.Alsoencouragetheuseofreusablewaterbottlesandreplacetheflimsyplastic
wrapperswithanalternativepiecethatismoreenvironmentallyfriendly.Theuseoftheyoung
generationswouldcomeinhandybecausetheyareonsocialmedia,itistheirandmylife.Their
connectioninthesocialmediacanhelpmakeitaworldwideawarenesstotakeactionona
futureenvironmentalproblem.

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Mypersonalresearchcanaddress,whatmygenerationknowsnow,andcangivealead
onwhatisneededtostartspreadingawarenessintheyouthoftoday.
Methods:
Thesettingisaschool,rightnowH2OTrashPatroliscontractedbythecityofOceanside
toimplementazerowasteprogramatOceansideHighSchool.Wehavegivenlessonstothe
studentsabouthowallthetrashendsupintheoceanifitisnotthrownawayorrecycled
properly,aftergivingthemthelessonsweputtrashcansoutwithpicturesonthelandfillcansof
whatgoesintothelandfillandpicturesofrecyclabletrashontherecyclecans.Sincethetrash
canshavebeenputoutwegoineveryweekandcheckthattheyaredisposingoftheirtrash
properly,bywalkingaroundandobservingthestudentsthrowingtrashaway.Myessential
questionisperfectinthisenvironmentbecauseIhavetheconnectiontobeabletosurveythe
studentsabouttheirthoughtsandknowledgeongarbagepatches.TeensatOceansideHigh
SchoolwereveryimportantinmyresearchbecauseIamtargetingteens.Mostimportantlysince
theylivesoclosetotheoceanitwouldmakeabiggerimpactonthembecausetheylovetobe
abletoseetheclearoceanwater.
IcollecteddatabyhandingoutsurveystothestudentsatOceansideHighSchool,they
hadquestionsabouttheirknowledgeongarbagepatches,whattheywishtheyknewbefore,and
stepsthattheywilltakeactiononnowtopreventthegarbagepatchesfromgrowing.Ialso
interviewedacouplestudentsfromthesurveysIreceived.Thesemethodswereappropriatefor
myquestionsinceIamtargetingteensandahighschooliswhereyouwouldfindteens,having
togivethemsurveystheylittleofthemwantedtodo,madeithardertogetenoughdatafromthe
teens.Mydatawastakenafterthestudentsalreadyhadlessonaboutthetrashinouroceans,and

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knewhowmuchrecyclabletheyweresendingouttolandfill,andwheremostofthestudents
knowhowtodisposeoftheirtrashproperly.
Analysis:
Morethan77%ofstudentsfromOceansidehighschoolsaidtheyhadknowledgeonthe
garbagepatches,88%ofstudentsaidtheywouldtakeactionand12%wouldnt,reasonbeingis
thattheysaytheydontcare.Teensinthegenerationtodayarebeingcarelessaboutthe
environment,thewaterways,themarinelife.ManyofthestudentsIspoketosaidthatiftheyhad
moreknowledgeaboutthegarbagepatchesbeforetheymighthavetakenaction.Ahugeportion
ofthestudentswouldmentionhowtheywouldtotakeactionbutwhenH2odidtheweekly
checkupsaroundthecampusestrashcans,therewouldbelandfillinrecyclebins,and
recyclablesinlandfillbins.Anotherthingthatwasfairlyobviousishowmuchtrashisleftouton
theconcrete,wherethestudentswalk.Afterlunchthenearbyflockofseagullswouldcome
rushingdownandpickatallthetrashleftonthegroundandstickingoutofgarbagecans.
Teensarethebiggestusersofplasticwaterbottles,wrappers,straws,andplasticbags.
WhenIwasinterviewingthestudentsatOHStheyknewthattheywerethepeopletotarget,they
alsobroughtupthattheyfeltlikeyoungeragesshouldbetargetedbecausetheyaretheupcoming
generationsthatshou

ActionPlan:
Theresultsfrommyresearchstatethatteensneedtostartcaringaboutthegarbage
patches,becausefacingthefactstheoceanwillbefulloftrashinacoupledecades,marine
animalswillstarttodieoffandgoextinct,andouroceanswillnolongerbeabletobeused.With

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alltheplasticinouroceansitscausingchemicalreleasesintoouroceans.Ittakes4501,000
yearsforplastictofullydecompose,thechemicalsreleasedare
BPAandPSoligomer.BPAand
PSoligomeraresourcesofconcernbecausetheycandisruptthefunctioningofhormonesin
animalsandcanseriouslyaffectreproductivesystems.

Wefoundthatplasticintheocean
actuallydecomposesasitisexposedtotherainandsunandotherenvironmentalconditions,
givingrisetoyetanothersourceofglobalcontaminationthatwillcontinueintothe
future.(KatsuhikoSaido,Ph.D)Teenshavesparkedinterestingainingmoreknowledgeonthe
garbagepatches,sothentheycanfurtherthinkabouttakingactionsonthisworldwideproblem
.
Therearestillmanyquestionsneededtobeanswered,likehowwouldteensact?What
supportdoteensneedinordertoact?Howmuchcanbepreventedifactionsstartednow?This
allwouldbeimportantquestionstobeansweredduetothefactthatifthereissupportneeded
fromoutsidesourcessuchasorganizations,companies,nonprofits,stateandgovernmentalhelp.
Thereareactionsthathavebeenstartedtobeimplementedsuchaszerowasteschoolprograms,
althoughOceansideHighSchoolisthefirstschoolinthenationtostartthisprogramH2oTrash
Patrolalreadyhassetcontractstostartimplementingthezerowasteprogramatelementary
schoolsinOceansidespring2016.
Recommendationsformyinternshipsite/mentorswouldbetoreadMadetoStick
writtenby
ChipHeathandDanHeath.Ireadthisbookinmyfallsemesterof2015,formy
ExpositoryReadingandWritingclass.Inthebooktheyexplainhowsomeideasstickandhow
manyjustfail.Itteachesyouthetricksonhowtomakeanideastick,andhowtomakethem
successful.H2ohashadmanypositiveoutcomesthroughouttheiryears,heldmanyevents,

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gottenmanydonations.Recentlytheylaunchedafundraisertoraisemoneytobuyanewtrash
mobile.

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Appendix:
Question

PercentageofYES

PercentageofNO

Doyouhaveanyknowledge
ontheGreatPacificGarbage
Patch?

77%

23%

Doyoucareaboutour
waterways,andOceans?

88%

12%

Wouldyoutakeactionon
preventingthesegarbage
patchesfromgrowing?How?

77%

23%

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WorksCited:
Bernstein,Michael."PlasticsinOceansDecompose,ReleaseHazardousChemicals,Surprising
NewStudySays."
AmericanChemicalSociety
.N.p.,19Aug.2009.Web.04Dec.2015.
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2009/august/plasticsinoceansdeco
mposereleasehazardouschemicalssurprisingnewstudysays.html

Dam,Hans."PlasticPollutionintheWorldsOceans:Morethan5TrillionPlasticPieces
Weighingover250,000TonsAfloatatSea."Web.20Oct.2015.
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.prozy.palomar.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=906b1cbd
9e6b49b6bead913f0ead9072%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4101

Greenberg,Nell."CaptainCharlesMoore."
EarthIslandJournal
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http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/charles_moore/

Mole,Beth."SeaTrashDefiesOceanBoundaries."Web.21Oct.2015.
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9e6b49b6bead913f0ead9072%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4101

NOAA."GreatPacificGarbagePatch."
NationalGeographic
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http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/greatpacificgarbagepatch/

Ottum,Joshua."SoundsLikeGarbage:PaddlingthroughanImaginaryIslandofTrashtowarda
NewSonicEcology."9.Print.
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Parker,Diana."TheGreatPacificGarbagePatch."
GreatPacificGarbagePatch
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04Dec.2015.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/june14/mw126garbagepatch.html