4 things you can do right now
Reduce Plastic Use
Reduce it in every aspect. No plastic water bottles, no plastic bags, no plastic packaging, in general just try to avoid using it.
Eat less ocean harvested fish
The majority of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, about 705,000 tons, comes from lost, broken or discarded fishing nets.
Participate in beach clean-ups.
Join a Surfrider sponsored beach clean-up and pick trash off the ground when you see it. If we prevent trash from entering the ocean and waterways, we have a fighting chance to help reduce the future growth of the Great Pacific Patch.
Support Algalist Marine Research Foundation
Created By Charles Moore, Algalita's mission is to protect and improve the marine environment and its watersheds through research and education on the impacts of plastic pollution.
Potential solutions
There is a couple of organizations out there that are trying to find solutions to this problem. One non-profit organization in particular is using new technology to remove the plastic that has resided in the ocean. Founded in 2013, The Ocean Cleanup team consists more than 80 engineers, researchers, scientists, and computational modelers working daily to rid the world's oceans of plastic
Their technology consists of two main components; a floater and it's skirt. Using natural forces, like wind and waves, the floater sits above the water surface, while the skirt gathers the plastic to an accumulation point. Once all gathered, the plastic will be removed, sorted and processed on land for recycling
Check out their website and learn more about the team that is creating a solution to this problem.
