Riley Clements

The Great Pacific

Garbage Patch
What is it?
• A collection of trash discarded into the ocean that formed a small island due to the north pacific
gyre.
• It was discovered by Charles Moore in 1997.
• There are two portions of it.
• Western Garbage Patch near Japan
• Eastern Garbage Patch in between California and Hawaii

Issitt, M. (2020). Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Salem Press Encyclopedia.

Snowden, S. (2022, October 12). 300-mile swim through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch will collect data on
plastic pollution. Forbes. Retrieved April 27, 2023, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottsnowden/2019/05/30/300-mile-swim-through-the-great-pacific-garbage-
patch-will-collect-data-on-plastic-pollution/?sh=42e2049d489f
North Pacific Geyer
• Formed from four currents moving in a clockwise pattern.
• North Pacific Current
• California Current National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Homepage | National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from http://www.noaa.gov/
• North Equatorial Current
• Kuroshio Current

• Trash in the ocean gets swept by currents and transported to the north pacific Geyer where it
gets stuck in the middle due to the circulating currents.

What are gyres? everything you need to know. American Oceans. (2023, April 12). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.americanoceans.org/facts/ocean-gyres-facts/
How Does the Trash Get There?
• Littering is the main cause of the Pacific trash pile, with trash on our beaches and in our rivers
getting washed into the ocean.
• The accumulation of plastics over time in our society results in an accumulation of plastic litter in
our oceans.
• 60%-80% of marine litter is plastic.
• Most plastic in the ocean is microplastic.
• Some is discarded by ocean dumping.
• Ocean dumping is trash discarded by ships or planes.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

Issitt, M. (2020). Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Salem Press Encyclopedia.

Paris, A., Kwaoga, A., & Hewavitharane, C. (2022). An assessment of floating marine debris within the breakwaters of the University of the South Pacific, Marine Studies Campus at Laucala Bay. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 174.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113290
Environmental concerns
• 70% of plastic will sink eventually which will create an ocean floor covered in garbage.
• It is harming marine life.
• Some sea creatures consume the trash, and some get caught in it.
• Since the garbage blocks sunlight, it affects plankton and algae, thus disrupting the food web.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
Dumas, D. (2007). Landfill-on-sea. Ecologist, 37(7), 34–37.
Cleanup Efforts
• Non-profit organization Ocean Cleanup created a system to remove plastics. Two ships drag a
barrier similar to a net throughout the ocean.
• Ocean Cleanup hopes to have half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch cleaned by 2025.
• https://youtu.be/tLcnJEMnlTs

(2021). YouTube. Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://youtu.be/tLcnJEMnlTs.

Ocean Cleanup Project Finally Collects Plastic From Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (2019). Weekend All Things Considered.

The Ocean Cleanup. (2023, April 26). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://theoceancleanup.com/
Sources
• 2021). YouTube. Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://youtu.be/tLcnJEMnlTs.
• Ocean Cleanup Project Finally Collects Plastic From Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (2019). Weekend All
Things Considered.
• Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
• Issitt, M. (2020). Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
• Paris, A., Kwaoga, A., & Hewavitharane, C. (2022). An assessment of floating marine debris within the
breakwaters of the University of the South Pacific, Marine Studies Campus at Laucala Bay. Marine
Pollution Bulletin, 174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113290
• What are gyres? everything you need to know. American Oceans. (2023, April 12). Retrieved April 27,
2023, from https://www.americanoceans.org/facts/ocean-gyres-facts/
• Dumas, D. (2007). Landfill-on-sea. Ecologist, 37(7), 34–37.