The

Great
Pacific
Garbage
Patch
Natalie Pinter
How are Garbage Patches Formed?
• Rotation of the earth and global winds
• 100s of Miles long Patches
• 5 gyres 5 patches
• Largest is in the north
pacific gyre
Where is the GPGP?
• 2 separate patches
Eastern
garbage
• subtropical convergence patch
zone
• At least 100 million tons of
trash Subtropical
convergence
zone

Western
garbage
patch
Trash Soup
• Not just a floating mass of • Sun breaks plastic polymer
trash bonds
• Photodegrades • Nurdles
• Micro plastic to
phytoplankton (6:1)
Where Trash Comes From

Offshore Oil Rigs Commercial Fishing Cargo ships Fishing nets land

Offshore Oil Rigs

6%
Commercial Fishing
6%

Cargo ships
6%

Fishing nets
10%

land
72%
Effects on Wildlife
Solutions
Change in Habits Clean up

• People must come together • We cant simply clean up the

trash
• Change our habits for the
benefit of the Earth and all living • Too much too vast
things