I hope you’re all having a great week! Let’s all give a cheer, Friday is here! I know you’re pumped about another whole lot of waste facts. I hope you’re all getting into waste as much as I am into it! Last week’s efforts were about participating in Plastic Free July. Continuing on that theme – this week is about the plastic in our amazing ocean! The plastic crisis that our world is currently enduring has meant that our oceans are struggling under the weight of our constant pollution.
DID YOU KNOW?
There are collections of trash in our oceans that perpetually exist and accumulate.
THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH
The biggest of these is called The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This is a collection of debris made up of mostly plastics in the North Pacific Ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is bound to its location by an ocean gyre, which is a system of ocean currents that is formed by the Earth’s winds and rotation patterns. So plastics that are not biodegradable can travel great distances and be drawn into the garbage patch from the shores of North America and Asia. It is hard to measure the immensity of this garbage patch, and considering all debris does not float, there is speculation that much of the rubbish in The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has sunk to the bottom of the ocean floor. It is important to note that plastics that are not biodegradable break down in the ocean, with the help of the sun, into tinier and tinier pieces via a process called photodegradation. This means that although the plastic gets smaller, it still exists in the ocean as microplastic!
Learn more about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch:
AMSTERDAM'S PLASTIC WHALE
Amsterdam, a bustling, large international city has a new crew called the Plastic Whale. They have been taking tourists for a ride quite unlike any other. In light of the pollution present in Amsterdam’s quays and canals, an idea sparked and has developed into full blown boat tours where people are given a net in hand, and proceed to collect rubbish from waterways whilst they enjoy a scenic boat tour. What an idea! The mission of Plastic Whale is to in fact go out of business, as this means, all the rubbish is gone.
Learn more about Amsterdam’s Plastic Whale: