While it may be an old issue it has certainly not gone away...The North Pacific Gyre is essentially a huge island of garbage twice the size of the state of Texas, and weighing in at more than 3.5 tons.
The "patch" has actually been around since the 1950s, or at least this is when we first really noticed it. Most of the garbage originates on-shore and is swept to the ocean via wind and currents, often times from our lack of proper disposal.
It is estimated that the size of this "patch" grows approximately ten fold annually. Our worlds reliance on plastics is a huge reason that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch exists and comprises approximately 80% of the total volume of the island. Of this, the toxic plastic Bisphenol A is the largest component.
I suppose the point of this is to not only be aware that such a thing exists but how, if at all, each of us contributes to this problem and what we can do to minimize our plastic waste. This of course can be incredibly difficult since we live in a plastic world.
The next time you buy something with plastic please be aware of where this ends up, as I doubt this is the kind of island you want to vacation on!
Absolutely mind boggling how large this plastic island is, what a crime! People have to become more conscious of where they are disposing their bottles. We have to go back to the old way of using reusable glass bottles. There are some great glass water bottles out there with rubber cages on them so if dropped they won't break. We have to become less dependent on plastic.
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