The Great Pacific Patch

About the GPGP

The patch can vary over time depending on the time of year

The patch was found in 1997 by Charles Moore

To biodegrade plastic undergoes a process called photo-degradation,where it decays when exposed to sunlight then it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces.

Animal Effects

Sea Turtles often confuse plastic for Food like jellyfish.

Plastic accounts for around 76% of a sea turtles diet

1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are effected each year

The Clean Up

Models show that a full-scale cleanup could clean 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just five years. After fleets of systems are deployed into every ocean gyre, combined with source reduction, The Ocean Cleanup projects to be able to remove 90% of ocean plastic by 2040.