“…three times the size of France”
It’s been building for a while. Discovered in 1997, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world’s biggest collection of ‘floating trash’. Located between Hawaii and California, scientists have recently found that this circling pile of plastic pollution is actually 16 times larger than previously estimated. At one point it was compared to the size of the state of Texas, but now researchers are claiming this enormous oceanic landfill is actually three times the size of France.
The Ocean Clean Up has released new information that is more advanced than ever on this topic. After a three year study, it was found that the garbage patch is roughly 79,000 metric tons and tragically still increasing, and fast. Thankfully, the Ocean Clean Up has also been researching solutions. They are investing and creating advanced ‘clean up technology’. Their coined phrase being “The Largest Clean Up in History“. But when it comes down to it, the problem will not be solved if we do not help with the current plastic pollution issues here on land. Microplastics are one of the biggest causes of death in marine life. Together we can help get our oceans cleaned up if we stop contributing to the problem. Bring your own canvas bags to the grocery store, say no to straws and other single-use plastics such as to-go containers. Little steps can make the biggest differences if enough people take them.
“Contains 1.8 Trillion pieces of plastic, which equals 250 pieces for every human in the world”.