The Peanuts gang may have had issues with the Great Pumpkin Patch, but that’s nothing compared to an ocean-going floating plastic blob called the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”
Make no mistake, the garbage patch is no cartoon. Scientists say the plastic debris mass measures 620,000 square miles and is currently adrift in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California.
Scientists say the floating plastic mass has become a home for various marine creatures, including crabs, birds, and smaller living organisms that might otherwise not survive in the open sea.
The "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" is sustainable enough to keep growing as a mass and as a habitat for marine life. That's because plastic debris is able to float on the sea for significantly longer periods of time than organic matter like seaweed, which decomposes and sinks in weeks or months.
A new study in Nature cites the longevity of floating plastic masses, which can accommodate more “rafting” marine species.
“Anthropogenic materials also act as ocean rafts," scientists say. "Ephemeral anthropogenic materials, such as lumber, glass, and metal, are made of naturally occurring materials and may not last at sea. However, enduring plastic materials may survive much longer, although degradation rates vary across polymer type, habitat, and environmental conditions."
“Floating plastic materials, such as buoys and floats, built to persist in harsh marine environments, are by nature more durable and buoyant than natural materials, making floating plastics optimal rafts for long-distance and long-term dispersal,” study researchers noted.
Scientists also say the plastic mass shouldn’t be referred to as a “trash” mass.
“If you’re out there, what you see is just pristine blue ocean,” said Matthias Egger, head of environmental and social affairs at The Ocean Cleanup, in comments to CNN. “You can think of it like the night sky. If you look up at night, you see all those white dots, that’s essentially what you see in the garbage patch. It’s not that dense, but there are a lot of them … out there, you start seeing more and more plastic the longer you look.”
Where does the floating plastic come from? Researchers point to the fishing industry as the main culprit, along with ecological disasters like tsunamis.
While cleanup operations are underway, plastic masses will only grow larger unless more defensive action is taken by global governments. According to one study, plastic accumulation in the world’s oceans is expected to grow by 2.6 times between 2023 and 2040, unless direct intervention measures are adopted.
