Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a toxic legacy of five countries. Plastic waste and the future of ocean pollution
This vast ocean dump is a by-product of one of the five largest global ocean currents. It is situated on high seas, beyond territorial waters, and away from the scrutiny of voters who could potentially exert pressure on policymakers. It's estimated that about 110 million tons of floating plastic is present, and yet, no country accepts responsibility.
3:57 PM EST, January 18, 2024
According to a study from the "Nature" journal published in 2022, the majority of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch originates from five countries: Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, and Taiwan.
Currently, the most considerable efforts to alleviate the plastic situation comes from a non-governmental organization. Established by Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup has, since 2013, deployed its extensively long, technologically advanced nets that have trapped hundreds of tons of plastic.
However, the disassembling of this garbage patch is complicated by its composition. Contrarily to some media portrayals, it's not an island but rather a "soup," where 94% of the mass is microplastics which prove extremely difficult to entrap. The technology employed by The Ocean Cleanup is of little aid in this task, even though the latest versions of its nets feature enlarged 2-inch "eyes", optimized to avoid harm to small creatures.
What does the future hold for oceanic plastic?
There's an urgent need to capture larger items not only to prevent marine fauna from getting entangled but also to slow the proliferation of microplastics formed from the degradation of these larger wastes.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is merely one of multiple toxic reservoirs of plastic in our oceans. Although their existence has been known for 26 years, the production and usage of plastic by corporations, outweighed by their profits, have seemingly taken precedence over environmental health. The annual production rate of plastic shows an alarming increase, leading to a growing concentration in the oceans.
However, a transformative shift might be on the horizon, with the agreement to prevent plastic pollution, projected to be signed in 2024. Pioneered by the United Nations, with the support of 175 out of its 193 member states, we can only hope that such global regulations will prove as effective as those that successfully halted the expansion of the ozone hole.
