Science Questions

Is there a huge mass of plastic waste in the Pacific?

I heard that there’s a huge mass of plastic waste in the North West Pacific, is this true? Charles Buckton

Plastic waste is a huge problem.  Researchers working on uninhabited islands often find plastic waste, and often flip-flops!  Some enterprising people in the Seychelles have even started using them to make flip-flop art.

Ocean currents are likely to bring plastic together in certain areas, so there could well be a mass in the N W Pacific.  In fact, shipments of rubber ducks which escaped from damaged tankers have been used to measure ocean currents.

April 2007