Let's face it - our oceans today are dirty beyond measure primarily due to single-use plastics. Decades of indiscriminate use has turned our oceans into a garbage dump. While it's easy to pin the blame on individual actions, corporations that don't take responsibility for the plastic they produce are not helping anybody, especially not marine life.
Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Yep, it's as bad as it sounds. There is so much garbage in our oceans that there now exist garbage patches where so much trash has accumulated that you can't see the water in certain spots. Situated in the North Pacific Ocean, the trash vortex isn't going to disappear on its own.
In August, the global environmental nonprofit organisation Ocean Cleanup deployed Jenny, its first large-scale cleaning system, CNET reported. As of November 8, Jenny had removed over 28,000 kilograms of trash (63,000 pounds).
Ocean Cleanup is calling the "beginning of the end of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Plastics play an intrinsic role in exasperating climate change. Owing to heat, plastics in the ocean release greenhouse gases. Every year, Earth's oceans rake in at least 8 million tons of plastic.
Also read:?This Start-Up May Save The World Through Plastic Recycling Using Enzymes
The worst part? Over 70 per cent of plastic waste in the Great Pacific Garbage Pitch sinks down to the bottom of the ocean, making the water appear "normal."
Almost everything humans create and consume has the potential to reach our oceans, for the Earth's natural drainage leads all water bodies to the ocean. ?Of course, boats and ships also play a considerable role in polluting the ocean.
Also read:?This Mouse By Microsoft Is Made From 20% Recycled Ocean Plastic Waste
According to Ocean Cleanup, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch covers 1.6 million square kilometres, roughly as big as the US' second-largest state Texas.?While such efforts could help remove trash from the oceans, the brakes need to be pulled from the source of plastics.
What do you make of Ocean Cleanup's commendable work in the Pacific Ocean? Share with us in the comments below.?For the latest in tech and science, continue reading Indiatimes.com.??
Citation
Teague, K. (2021, November 8). That giant trash patch in the middle of the ocean is getting bigger. Here¡¯s what¡¯s happening. CNET.?