Isn't it Time to Clean Up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

We all know it's out there: a giant swirling mass of trash and scrap known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. We have seen how the trash is killing birds and other wildlife. It's a twice-the-size-of-Texas problem, but what can we do to stop it?

Cleaning Up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

It might be possible to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage patch. Here are some of the ideas floating around:

1. Recycling at Sea

Imagine large ships floating amid a sea of trash. They are collecting bits of garbage from the Pacific, either with nets or pumps, and actually recycling the plastic on the ship. These floating factories sound great but there are a few problems. First, there is the issue of range. With the garbage patch a week's voyage from the nearest port, these ships would be limited by their ability to store recycled materials and the bits that ultimately can't be recycled, as well as the amount of fuel they could carry.

That fuel is raises another issue: Such expeditions would use an intense amount of energy. In fact, it would probably be more efficient to bring the raw plastic back to land and process it there.

2. Transporting Trash

There are two obvious ways trash could be transported back to land for processing. Ships could collect bits of garbage and compact them to maximize on-ship storage space, returning to land only when they became full.

The other option would be to use a net to collect and tow the trash back to land. Capturing trash and leaving living things behind, however, is a challenge. Right now, Project Kaisei is floating in the gyre, hoping to uncover a method of netting the trash that will not also snare wildlife. Even if they are successful, it's not clear that such a process would be capable of addressing the bulk of the Pacific's trash problem.

It's Not All Bottle Caps

The majority of the plastic in the Pacific Garbage Patch are pieces that have been broken up by UV degradation. These tiny particles of plastic are invisible to satellites and ships, but are dangerous none the less. Outnumbering plankton in the Northern Pacific six to one, these bits absorb heavy metals and pollutants before being eaten by tiny fish. These fish are sometimes eaten, and then their predators and eaten by a yet larger animal. As we move up the food chain, the toxins present in that particle of plastic become more concentrated and deadly.

Charles Moore, the oceanographer that first discovered the garbage patch, believes it would be impossible to clean these particles at sea. He has said that "trying to clean up the Pacific gyre would bankrupt any country and kill wildlife in the nets as it went."

Then what are we supposed to do?

The Solution is Simple and Challenging

Moore has explained that "The ocean is downhill from everywhere...it's like a toilet that never flushes. You can't take these particles out of the ocean. You can just stop putting them in."

Indeed, the solution is that simple: Stop putting trash into the ocean.

Making people around the world understand and comply with that mission, however, is a challenge nearly as daunting as a Pacific Gyre cleanup effort.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is an important event because it brings people together around the world to bring attention to the litter on our coasts. That litter, of course, is just a wave away from beginning its voyage to the gyre.

Treat the Cause, Not the Symptoms

In the end, the most effective strategy will be one that addresses the cause of the Pacific trash problem, not the symptoms that become so obvious at the end of the line. Our production of plastic and inability to dispose of it properly is the root. A disposable consumer culture allows us to justify this waste.

We must break these habits. Whether you choose a reusable tote over plastic shopping bags or petition your town for secure, sealable, recycling receptacles, the solution to the Great Pacific Garbage patch problem lies in our neighborhoods, our homes, and, ultimately, our own hands.