Envirmental Costs

North Pacific Garbage Patch

Oil and Water|World Water Crisis

Not all garbage ends up at the dump. In fact, Earth's largest landfill isn't on land at all. Rain fall and pollution cause large amounts of our trash to end up floating around in the ocean current.

The North Pacific Garbage Patch stretches for hundreds of miles across the North Pacific Ocean, forming floating junk yards on the high seas.Most of the trash there is comprised of plastic. Plastic, which is made from petroleum, is a material that the Earth cannot digest. Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists.

In the ocean, plastic waste accumulates in swirling seas of debris, where plastic to sea life ratios are 6:1. Birds and mammals are dying of starvation and dehydration with bellies full of plastics. Fish are ingesting toxins at such a rate that soon they will no longer be safe to eat.

So what can be done about it? Sadly it is almost impossible to clean up what is already there. Much of the plastic has been broken down into small particles that fish mistake for food. The best thing we can do now is prevent any further trash from ending up there. Start being more aware of the way things are packaged, say no to plastic bags, stop drinking things in plastics bottles, and reuse and recycle.