Ocean currents and plastic.
The material that made headlines and has made modern life possible. But now more than 40 percent of it is used only once, and it is choking our waterways.
Our plastic ocean
Ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals every year. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by it.
The Great Pacific garbage patch
The largest trash site on the planet is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located in The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
Ocean Currents
The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is 20 million square kilometres, created by four currents (North Pacific, Kuroshio, North Equatorial, and the California current.)
Where does the plastic come from?
80% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of debris from Asia and North America.
The fishing industry, why not take a break from eating fish?
705,000 tons of this is fishing nets, making up the majority of the waste. However all sorts of electricals and toys are found lost from cargo ships.
Help us clean up this mess.
Our rangers in India and the Maldives are helping to reduce the size of the The Indian Ocean garbage patch by scooping the plastics out of the water.