In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies an enormous collection of floating garbage. It includes everything from lost fishing gear to microplastics, or pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) in diameter. Scientists call the area the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. From July 2021 to January 2022, the Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit based in the Netherlands, used a net strung between two boats to scoop about 44 tons of this waste from the sea.
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Trash Removal
THE OCEAN CLEANUP
1. CATCHING DEBRIS: The Ocean Cleanup’s new system uses a floating barrier pulled behind two boats to direct ocean plastic into a collection net.
2. A SMALL FRACTION: The Ocean Cleanup’s net will only be able to capture a tiny portion of the 8 million tons of plastic that enters the ocean each year.
3. LONG-LASTING DEBRIS: Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, or break down in nature. Researchers have discovered plastics in the garbage patch that were more than 50 years old.
THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH IS ONE OF FIVE MAJOR GARBAGE PATCHES FOUND AROUND THE WORLD.
The garbage patch formed as swirling ocean currents swept trash into a concentrated area. The debris poses a risk to marine life that can mistake it for food or become entangled in the larger items.
THE OCEAN CLEANUP
MOUNTAIN OF GARBAGE: The Ocean Cleanup crew empties a net full of debris onto one of the group’s vessels.
Still, many scientists have been critical of the Ocean Cleanup’s new system. They argue that this approach could harm a group of floating organisms known as neuston, which includes seaweed, jellyfish, and snails. Rebecca Helm, a biologist at the University of North Carolina Asheville, argues that more research needs to be done to understand how cleanup operations will affect this unique ecosystem.
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