How You Can Help the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

On a breezy beach day in Southern California, the Santa Ana winds pick up a plastic bag from a picnic table, blowing it to a nearby beach. It flies across the sand, on a clear trajectory straight to the ocean.

Surfers are busy waxing their boards, and other beach-goers are tossing a volleyball. No one takes notice of the clear plastic, and a final breeze lifts it swiftly into the ocean.

After a whirlwind ride through the seas, a mere few weeks later it’s bound to the largest trash conglomeration in the world, where it will likely ride out the rest of its days. 

It’s found a new home on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

What is the Garbage Patch? 

The giant island of solid trash that probably comes to your mind when someone references the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” isn’t quite accurate. Unfortunately, the reality isn’t any better. 

What’s come to be known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a massive conglomerate of marine debris, but rather than one giant trash hunk, it’s mostly made of microscopic bits of plastic, or microplastics, along with some larger pieces of more recognizable human garbage. 

These tiny bits of trash, often so small that they are invisible to the naked eye, have completely infected the waters they sit in. Think of the patch not as a solid landmass, but a ton of murky water where trash particulates are indistinguishable from the water. 

Being primarily plastic, the contents of the patch will never biodegrade. As long as humans keep feeding it, the patch will continue to act as a litter magnet, accumulating more and more marine debris by the minute. 

The patch is an abomination to the ocean ecosystem, with microplastics polluting the water and larger pieces of trash trapping or otherwise harming an estimated 100,000 marine animals per year. 

Where is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? 

The Great Pacific Garbage patch is over a million and a half km squared, stretching from the West Coast of the United States to Japan. 

Often also referred to as the “Pacific Trash Vortex,” a name that depicts the whirlwind of circular currents that create it, the patch is more accurately two large patches that have been connected by a system of ocean currents called gyres. 

The Eastern Garbage patch, which sits between Hawaii and California, and the Western Garbage patch which sits near Japan, have essentially combined to form this mega-marine-monstrosity. 

Are there other Garbage Patches?  

Even though the Great Pacific Patch is the only one anyone ever seems to be talking about, it’s not the only one of its kind. While America’s west coast surfers have the pacific patch off their shores, east coast surfers have their own patch to worry about. 

The North Atlantic Garbage Patch sits off the eastern shores of the United States, and while smaller than its more famous trash vortex cousin, also consists of hundreds of kilometers of densely packed microplastics. 

Three other garbage patches have formed around the three other gyres, one in the South Pacific, one in the South Atlantic, and one in the Indian Ocean.  

What are the efforts to Clean the Garbage Patch? 

Due to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch’s remote location, one singular country has yet to take on the responsibility of addressing it. This “not my problem” attitude has resulted in a severe lack of initiative in cleaning up the garbage patch on a large scale. 

Even if there were means to take on this cleanup project, there are two major barriers in doing so. 

For one, it would be a massive project. According to the NOAA, it would take 67 ships an entire year to clean up less than one percent of the marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. 

The second issue comes from the level of integration into the ecosystem microplastics have reached. It would be very difficult to successfully scoop up the floating plastic particles without also scooping up the marine animals whose home has been swallowed by the patch. 

It’s not all bad news, there is a lot of current research being done to understand the patch better and look forward to possible solutions. Beach cleanups spearheaded by passionate community members also make a difference in preventing beach trash from becoming marine debris. 

What Surfers Can Do to Help the Garbage Patch  

To surfers, the ocean is more than just a place to catch waves, it’s a home. Surfers and others ocean-goers can take these personal actions against ocean pollution: 

1. Buy less plastic and reuse when you can! - Almost 2 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean each year, thanks to the amount of single use plastic humans produce each year. The less plastic we use, the less will end up in the ocean! 

2. Attend beach clean ups! - There are tons of dedicated oceans conservation organizations and nonprofits constantly hosting beach clean ups for community members to attend. Or better yet, take the initiative on your own and pick up a few pieces of trash while you're checking the surf.

If you live near Santa Barbara, here's a guide to beach cleanups happening year round.

3. Eat responsibly harvested fish! - 705,000 tons of the Great Pacific Garbage patch is made up of discarded fishing gear. By supporting sustainable fisheries you are taking a stand against the harmful practices of the commercial fishing industry. 

4. Educate! - Start a conversation with your surfer friends and family about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch! Let them know what they can do to make a difference. 

The Bottom Line: Garbage Patch 

Even though we can’t see the Great Pacific Garbage Patch from the lineup, surfers can do their part from shore to protect their oceans and keep its ecosystems happy and healthy.