These account for close to 10% of all marine plastic debris. When loosed into the ocean, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like DDT and PCBs already in the oceans glom onto nurdles, which are then consumed by wildlife. Nurdles, nurdles everywhere: Used as raw materials to make untold numbers of plastic products, nurdles are lentil-sized pellets of plastic that are transported by sea, with over 100s of millions of them spilled in the ocean every year.Other animals are impacted - sea otters choke on polyethylene rings from six-packs, gulls and swans are strangled by fishing lines and nylon nets, and other sea creatures end up swallowing things like combs, tampon cases, and toys. Wildlife deaths: It is estimated that hundreds of leatherback turtles die because they swallow plastic trash which is the same fate suffered by over 100,000 marine mammals annually.
While there are some large pieces, most of it has been battered by waves, breaking it down into small pea-sized (eatable) pieces. They estimate the plastic gyre in the Pacific Ocean to be close to the size of two Texas’s combined. Volume of seaborne plastic waste: 10% of the 100 million tonnes of plastic produced every year worldwide end up in the sea either as it falls off of ships and platforms or gets blow from land.
What is the plastic island in the pacific? These basic facts about the growing, floating garbage island will give you an idea of just how big the problem is: We’re all responsible, but there are things you can do to help.īasic facts about the Pacific Plastic Island
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch - also known as the floating plastic island or Garbage Island - is a horrific mess of plastic garbage collecting out in the pacific ocean and wreaking havoc on the environment. If you haven’t yet heard about it, be prepared to be surprised.