The Great Pacific Patch

The world's largest garbage dump is in the sea

The situation with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of great calamity. Thanks to our great discovery and abundant use over the last 60 years, plastic has literally polluted the entire planet. Sadly, the world's largest garbage dump is now floating in the northern Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. It is estimated to have an area almost 4 times the size of Ecuador (imagine that).

Nearly 100 million tons of plastic are polluting the oceans. Most of the trash is plastic. This plastic, which comes in every shape imaginable, is not biodegradable. Nor does it float in whole pieces to make it easier to clean, because thanks to the sun, it slowly disintegrates into microscopic pieces that are suspended in the water and are easy for marine animals that eat plankton to ingest. And the ratio is already 6 kilos of trash for every kilo of plankton.

In other words, it is a soup of garbage and very little food. Therefore, it is estimated that more than 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds die every year from the garbage that surrounds them in the sea.

To protect our oceans we can:

• Reduce plastic consumption
• Recycle: glass, aluminum, plastics 
• Never throw garbage on the street (it will run through the sewers and end up in rivers and seas) 
• When you see trash on the street, pick it up and throw it in the bin. 
• Don't buy ANYTHING made of styrofoam or polyurethane 
• Choose products that are not made or packaged in plastic. 
• Use cloth bags instead of plastic ones when you go shopping 
• Use stainless steel bottles to carry water or drinks 
• Educate your family and friends