More than 320 million metric tons of plastic are produced every year — and a disturbing amount ends up in the
ocean, with much of it 41 in places like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a massive area measuring more than 1.6 million square kilometers.
Researchers from the Ocean Cleanup foundation conducted a survey of plastic in the area, using planes to 42 from
the sky and boats to trawl the water. They found that the amount of plastic there seemed to be increasing exponentially
and that there could be 16 times as much as previously thought.
There’s far too much plastic in the world’s oceans, and the problem continues to 43 . Every little bit of
plastic that gets tossed into the ocean or swept downstream out to sea either sinks or is picked up by currents. Much of
it is eventually carried into one of five massive ocean regions, where plastic can be so 44 that areas have
garnered names like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
There may be more than 16 times as much plastic in the patch than previous studies have 45 , according to
the researchers behind the study. An aerial view of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch might at first appear to be open
water. But inside there is debris from all over the world — debris that traps or is eaten by marine animals, filling up
their bodies to the point of being fatal and tainting our food supply.