Plastic Bag Island

Posted under environment by Dominique de Bruin

Weve all heard that the plastic bag island is supposedly larger than the state of Texas.

But actually, there is no real island of plastic to set up lawn chairs and beach towels. The proper name is the Central Pacific Gyre (East). It spans from the California coast to Japan or approximately 10 million square miles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which is in Long Beach, CA, states that the Gyre is caused by clockwise air and water patterns. It can be a very inhospitable and difficult place for a boat to navigate. It is because of these currents that the area, which is now known as “plastic soup,” has accumulated so much trash and plastic.

Captain Charles Moore is a founder and research coordinator of the Algalita Foundation. The foundation specializes in environmental issues pertaining to marine life. While on an expedition to the Gyre, the Algalita team discovered a more disturbing site, its called the subtropical convergence zone (West). The subtropical convergence zone is simply the point in which warmer waters in tropical temperatures meets cold water. Its in this area where the currents formulate highways of trash, even more dense than the Gyre.

Many locals call these zones the Pacific Garbage Patches, and they consists mostly of plastic items such as bags, fishing line, and nets.

Sometimes our trash gets confused with a marine animal’s normal diet. It has been documented that many marine species cannot tell the difference between a plastic bag and a jellyfish, for example. It has also been shown that many marine animals have been found dead from chocking on plastic bags and other items.

I don’t know if people realize this but the ocean is not a trash dump! How much effort does it take to recycle plastic bags or plastic bottles? While more and more Americans are recycling plastic bags there are still more than 90 billion bags each year that are not recycled worldwide.

The answer is simple, use reusable bags! Imagine if and perhaps when towns decide to start charging for plastic bags. In fact, residents in Seattle, Washington may be facing a $.0.20 bag tax. Those who vote against the tax are clearly showing the very reason the ocean is polluted with plastic debris. Its time to take a stand, use reusable bags.