What can we do to stop the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

1) Stop using plastic—or reduce it in every aspect of your life. No plastic water bottles, no plastic bags (always use paper when possible) no plastic packaging, just say no—to plastic. 2) Stop eating ocean harvested fish—yep, the majority of TGPGP, about 705,000 tons, comes from lost, broken or discarded fishing nets.

Who is trying to clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

The catalyst behind the cleaning is The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit trying to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. Boyan Slat, who founded the organization in 2013 at the age of 18, called the most recent testing phase a success, but said there’s still much to be done.

How do human activities contribute to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

A 2018 study found that synthetic fishing nets made up nearly half the mass of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, due largely to ocean current dynamics and increased fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean. While many different types of trash enter the ocean, plastics make up the majority of marine debris for two reasons.

Who is funding ocean cleanup?

Funding. The Ocean Cleanup is mainly funded by donations and in-kind sponsors, including Maersk, Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff, Julius Baer Foundation and Royal DSM. The Ocean Cleanup raised over 2 million USD with the help of a crowdfunding campaign in 2014.

Can you stand on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world’s largest collection of floating trash—and the most famous. It lies between Hawaii and California and is often described as “larger than Texas,” even though it contains not a square foot of surface on which to stand. It cannot be seen from space, as is often claimed.

How was the Great Pacific Garbage Patch discovered?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch first caught public attention in 1997, after yachtsman Charles Moore sailed through remote ocean waters and documented toothbrushes, soap bottles and fishing nets floating past. The patch results from ocean currents that swirl in a vortex and leave trash captured in their center.

What caused the Great Pacific ocean Garbage Patch?

The Great Pacific garbage patch formed gradually as a result of ocean or marine pollution gathered by ocean currents. As the material is captured in the currents, wind-driven surface currents gradually move debris toward the center, trapping it.

How long will it take to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

In the TEDx talk, Slat proposed a radical idea: that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch could completely clean itself in five years. Charles Moore, who discovered the patch, previously estimated that it would take 79,000 years.

How much would it cost to clear the Pacific Garbage Patch?

Over a 10-year period, these barriers could extract a projected 42 percent of the debris within the GPGP at a total cost of $390 million. Ocean Cleanup has faced scrutiny over some of its research.