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Scientists have confirmed that there are millions of tonnes of plastic floating in an area of ocean known as the North Pacific Gyre. The first of two ships on a voyage to study plastic pollution there has recently returned to port. Scientists on board say they found increasing amounts of plastic of all sizes as they travelled into the gyre.

They plan to analyse the effects of the waste on marine life and will propose methods to clear it up. The North Pacific Gyre is a slow-moving clockwise vortex where four major ocean currents meet. Little lives there besides phytoplankton.

Mary Crowley, Project Kaisei co-founder, said: “More than 30 years ago, on my first trip to the North Pacific Gyre I found a few glass ball fishing floats, one net and there were, in four days, perhaps two pieces of floating plastic. Returning now with Project Kaisei .. the marine debris situation shows a startling change in this same area. In 30 minutes one easily can count up to 400 pieces of plastic on the sea’s surface.”

The researchers now plan to carry out extensive laboratory testing and analysis on the pieces of plastic they have collected, looking for toxins such as DDT and PCB. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop sound scientific sampling of marine debris, to assess prototype technologies for removing the waste and to gain insight into how future clean-up programmes might work.

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Source; BBC News