Group Sets Sail to Study Pacific Garbage Patch
A team of scientists, journalists, recyclers, government officials and sailors set sail from San Francisco Bay on Aug. 4 for a monthlong mission to study what’s known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” located about 1,000 miles north of Hawaii.
The floating garbage patch is still a mystery as scientists continue to explore hundreds of miles of debris. Photo: tropicalblendsurf via Photobucket.com
Said to be twice the size of Texas, the Garbage Patch is an island of floating debris (mostly plastic) that is swirling and trapped by the North Pacific Gyre, a large, circular ocean current.
The mission, called Project Kaisei, is the first step in examining the immense amount of garbage and what can possibly be done to clean it up. But, according to researchers, it’s no easy task.
“The missing link is how can you capture the plastic, since it’s spread out over such a large area,” Mary Crowley, project co-founder, tells The New York Times. “The key realization here is that the plastics might have a value, a recycled value, which is a very exciting deal.”
Crowley says the garbage has been accumulating over the past 30 years, and the group’s first step is to make a dent in the most recent accumulation. But cleanup will be overwhelming as the murky water holds about six pounds of litter to every pound of plankton, according to a 2006 report from the United Nations.
This group isn’t the first to raise awareness about the Pacific’s growing problem. This past April, the Algalita Marine Research Foundation created its “JUNKraft” to expose the effects of plastics pollution in the ocean.
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Amanda D
posted on August 13th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
It might be exciting to think that all that plastic is worth some money, but it is wreaking havoc on the marine life in that region. Click here for more statistics about the horrible effects of plastic waste in our ecosystem: http://tiny.cc/SyfAg
Craig Quirolo
posted on August 15th, 2009 at 4:54 am
The solution to this problem starts at home reduce, recycle, reuse…., we knew back in the 60s the evils of disposable plastic products yet look at us now. The biggest problem I see is that all of the developing countries around the world are following in our footsteps which means this island of plastic will only grow bigger. Until this problem is “in our face” nothing will be done. Thank you Project Kaisei ” for bringing it home”.
Tim Dunn
posted on August 18th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
One alternative is PLA, a plastic made out of corn. Essentially, the advocates of PLA ask that we ignore the world hunger problem, throw away a portion of the petroleum and natural gas that is a byproduct of refining fuel, and pay a great deal more for an inferior plastic. PLA only makes sense if you don’t understand its ramifications. We have another alternative: Biodegradable conventional plastic. Read more at http://biogreenproducts.biz .
Mike Dougherty
posted on December 12th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Great article Amanda ! I spent 25 years in the bottled water business as a Operations Manager and broke away on my own 3 years ago and started a water store in So. Orange County California, Pacific Water Solutions. We have never sold a bottle that cant be reused, such as a SIGG, or green bottle. In our store, you can fill up any reusable bottle with purified water and repeat that process over and over without drinking and discarding the plastic. Can you imagine what our environment will look like if we continue to use and toss 3 million bottles daily ?
Heidi
posted on July 11th, 2010 at 9:41 am
I do not see any references for this article.