Location

Ocean Location

Commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,  the Western and Eastern garbage patches float within the North Pacific Gyre. The Western garbage patch is located East of Japan and West of Hawaii. The Eastern garbage patch is located between Hawaii and California. These two garbage patches are linked by a 6,000 mile long current known as the Subtropical Convergence Zone.  About 10% of the 200 billion pounds of trash produced by humans annually,  lands in the ocean, and eventually accumulates in these garbage patches. In addition, over 80% of ocean trash is estimated to originate on land. It is estimated that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is approximately two times the size of Texas: about 537, 640 square miles. Most of the garbage accumulated in these areas consists of plastic because plastic does not biodegrade. Instead, plastic tends to photo degrade, meaning that sunlight slowly breaks down the plastic into smaller compounds.

Plastic Accumulated on Coastlines

However, photodegradation creates small bits of plastic known as mermaid tears and nurdles. Because these pieces of plastic are smaller, birds and marine animals can easily eat them. Filter feeders and albatross populations eat whatever they can and wherever they can. Many of these animals ingest these harmful substances unconsciously, and many of them die because of it. More than 1 million birds and marine animals die annually due to plastic and debris consumption. For example, the Albatross population in Midway Island gives birth to 500,000 chicks annually. However, over 200,000 of these chicks die, and their deaths are partially attributed to the polluted  habitats and consumption of trash. This issue has, and continues to affect marine life, as well as humans.

Birds Affected by Consumption of Harmful Substances

For one, tourism is affected, as coastlines are lined with increasing amounts of trash, degrading the nice ocean views. But most importantly, human health is at risk because poisonous substances or toxins can enter the food chain. The consumption of seafood can become a health problem simply because we are unaware of the harmful substances that marine animals have consumed, and that we will potentially consume. 

Specifics of the Problem

So what exactly is marine debris?

Marine debris is anything manmade object that washes up into the oceans. This includes things like plastics, rubber, textiles, metals, and marine equipment. This is mainly due to the trash that gets washed up from the shores.

from the Ocean Conservancy

A portion of oceanic pollution comes from lost containers. According to National Geographic, approximately 10,000 containers are lost due to storms or malpractices every year. Contents from these containers disperse throughout the ocean, disrupt oceanic wildlife, and potentially wash up at shores.

The main issue with trash washing up into the oceans is that much of the trash either does not decompose or takes several decades/centuries to do so. Many plastics do not decompose at all and instead photo-degenerate into smaller and smaller particles known as Persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The most toxic Persistant Organic Polutants (POPs) that have the highest impact on the ecosystem include polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, chlorinated pesticides which were banned in 1979 in the U.S. and worldwide 2001, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

All of these pollutants are known to be low in degradability, high in toxicity, have mutagenic properties, and bioaccumulate through the food chain.

The immediate problem with this is that marine life have been known to ingest these remnants of these microplastics which cause immediate health and digestive problems. Longer-term issues, however, are a lot worse. The ingestion of the chemical remnants in microplastics usually move up through the trophic levels.

The image, from the NOAA depicts the tracing of PCBs through this ecosystem showing that they accumulate all the way up to fishes, sea birds, and marine mammals. The direct effect of this on humans is that consumption of fish accounts for 20% of the globe's source of protein. These toxic chemicals can make their way up the trophic levels and reach humans to be potentially hazardous to consume due to the carcinogenic properties of POPs.

Larger Consequences of the Problem

The  Great Pacific Garbage Patch is but only one of the multiple landfills in the ocean. Research and exploration have shown that there are six ocean landfills in total. The other five landfills are located in the South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and South Indian Oceans, as well as the Barents Sea. Debris tracers were used to locate these patches. These ocean landfills have been traced for the past forty years, and their size is documented every year. Debris tracers are released six times throughout the course of one year to analyze and record the accumulation of trash and the way in which it disperses. For example, the South Indian Patch has decreased in size, but the South Atlantic Patch has experienced a slight growth. Both the South Atlantic and South Indian oceans have remained, more or less, the same size. However, the North Pacific Patch has and continues to expand in size.

Map Showing the Locations of the Six Ocean Landfills 

As more and more trash accumulates in the ocean, the consequences for our environment are becoming clear. Tourism, marine life, and humans, among other factors, are affected by the mismanagement of trash. Ocean coastlines are lined with increasing amounts of trash that not only, degrade ocean views, but also affect marine animals. In certain areas, beaches are covered under 5- 10 feet of trash. Moreover, over 19 of Hawaii's beautiful islands continuously receive large amounts of trash. Human heath is also at risk given that poisonous substances or toxins can enter the food chain through the consumption of seafood. As this issue becomes an overwhelming burden, it is up to the human population to rethink our current waste management.

Polluted Coastlines

Solutions

The most evident solution for this global issue would be to increase awareness of the issue and educate people about being accountable for their own trash. With this, policy changes and implementation can be accomplished more easily. Recycling and the shift to biodegradable plastics can also allow for vast improvement with the issue.

Some of the most involved organizations include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Ocean Conservancy, The Ocean Clean Up, and Heal the Bay.

The NOAA offers many opportunities for research as well as plenty of data and news about current issues. The Ocean Clean Up is currently in the developmental stages of new technologies that would actually work to remove the marine debris from the oceans. One of the biggest issues, of course, is the problem of being able to only capture the debris while avoiding oceanic wildlife. The technologies in this design take this into account and have engineered the mechanism to be environmentally sound.

Other solutions that have been in effect has been extremely successful has been through the Ocean Conservancy. They organize the International Coastal Clean Up, which has been the largest volunteering event in the world. In 2013, 648,014 volunteers across 92 countries were able to pick up more than 12.3 million pounds of trash along the coast lines that would have otherwise ended up in the oceans!

In the past year, many parts of California have also banned the use of plastic bags since the average consumer usually would use about 500 plastic bags per year. Additionally, The EPA passed an act called the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), most commonly known as the Ocean Dumping Act that makes it illegal to dispose of waste into the ocean that will endanger human health. In 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea set global standards for oceanic regulations.

Conclusions

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has become an overwhelming concern in need of serious attention by the government and citizens. Better waste management is crucial in ensuring that waste does not continue to land in the ocean. Awareness about this environmental concern is crucial, in order for people to understand the parameters of the dilemma and the potential risks. A collective effort, including political will on behalf of the government and sustainable practices by citizens, is crucial in addressing the problem effectively.

References    
                                                      

Kaiser, J. (2010). The dirt on ocean garbage patches. Science, 328(5985), 1506- 1506. 
Kostigen, T.M. (2008). The world's largest dump: the great pacific garbage patch. Discover Magazine, 10. 
Marks, K., & Howden, D. (2008). The world's  rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan. The Independent, 5. 
Silverman, J. (2007). Why is the world's biggest landfill in the Pacific Ocean? Retrieved from Web site, How Stuff Works on September 19, 2007.                                                                                                  Van Sebille, E., England, M. H., & Froyland, G. (2012). Origin, dynamics and evolution of ocean garbage patches from observed surface drifters. Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 044040.                     www.google.com