Toxic pacific

a vest mass  of waste- the size of turkey texas or Afghanistan  according to environment  agency  Greenpeace is  floating in the North pacific  ocean gathered in two huge groups (one to the east of japan the other to the west of  North America) the great pacific garbage patch  is made up largely of non-biodegradable debris much of it plastic. Ocean currents carry rubbish  around the pacific in clockwise direction  but the area in the centaur  of this vortex is still-a perfect  place for waste settle(see  below).Turles  mistake plastic bags for  jellyfish and  eat them while fish and seabirds eat smaller  pieces of  plastic which they can choke on or which can harm their internal  organs. Large debris can harm sea life (the photo above shows a mass of rope and fishing nets that traps wildlife such as sharks or sea lions) but most of the plastic exists in microscopic pieces that block out light. This has  disastrous repercussions for  thing plankton and alge- vital parts of the marine food chain. The plastic also releases harmful pollutant as it breaks down. Of  the estimated 100 million tonnes (110million US tons) of plastic produced each year 10 million tonnes (11million US tons end up in the see. cheating  up this huge marine wasteland is beyond the capability  of any one country  the solution may  lie in fundamental change in humanity habits by giving  up our addiction to plastic and switching to biodegradable (or reusable) materials  that decompose  safely we may help to shrink the great pacific garbage path over time.