Components of trash islands
The majority of the waste that is present in the trash islands is yard debris that has been dumped in the ocean and has been circulated in a massive, swirling vortex in the subtropical convergence zone and builds up in the western or eastern garbage patch ( as can be seen in the pie chart below). This has altered signficantly since Captain Charles Moore first discovered the existence the trash islands in 1997 when he passed through the area after competing in a sailing race and observing the debris floating over the entire area that he was crossing. It was Moore's research group along with the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) that first predicted the existence of trash islands after years of monitoring the levels of trash being dumped into the world's oceans in 1988. After having analysed the level of waste in the trash islands, they had established that 90% of the trash present was in the form of plastic. It is estimated that 80% of this plastic in the ocean comes from land sources while 20% comes from ships at sea.
The plastics in the patches of waste in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans consist of items such as water bottles, cups, plastic bags and fish netting. Though the trash islands do not purely consist of large items of plastic as Captain Moore's studies as it was found that the majority of plastic within the world's oceans consists of several billions of pounds of raw plastic pellets more commonly known as nurdles. It are these pellets that are a by-product of the manufacturing of other plastics. A significant percentage of waste in the trash islands is plastic and the main issue of plastics is that it does not break down easily especially in water. It is in the ocean, that plastic is cooled by the water and gets coated with algae which shield it from sunlight. It is due to these factors that the level of plastic waste in the world's oceans will last well into the future.
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This graph highlights the components of waste in the trash islands as Yard debris (21%) and Metals (19%) dominate the trash, though since then, plastics within the garbage patch have been steadily rising. The specific examples of waste in the trash islands is highlighted by the further statistics on the right with cigarettes and food wrappers/containers dominating the scene.
The impacts of the Trash Islands on wildlife
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