The Largest Plastic Dumping Ground on Earth

"The future my boy is in plastics". Dustin Hoffman's neighbor articulated this phrase to the young man in the movie, The Graduate, released in 1967. This phrase became a cliché in later years but at the same time it was very prophetic.

Today, plastic plays an important role in a variety of industries and employs 1.3 million people in the United States. There are over 18,500 plastic facilities and it is the third largest manufacturing industry in the United States, according to the American Plastics Counsel. Over 250 billion pounds of tiny plastic resin pellets are shipped around the world to plastic facilities each year.

Plastic is not biodegradable and that creates a problem. There is just so much of it and no natural process breaks it down. Plastic will break into smaller pieces in a process called photodegration. A piece of plastic floating in the ocean will fragment into even smaller tiny pieces over time. These pieces are termed nurdles. Some call them mermaid tears.

According to Greenpeace, of the 250 billion pounds of plastic produced each year about 10% ends up in the ocean. The ocean has become a huge dumping ground and it's getting more and more difficult for it to process the trash.

In 2006, the UN Environment Program estimated that there are 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in every square mile of ocean.

Most of the northern Pacific Ocean is influenced by a clockwise swirling vortex of ocean currents creating a large toilet bowl effect. It's as huge as two times the state of Texas and growing. Few pay the area a visit. Sailors avoid it because it lacks the wind for their sails and fishermen avoid it because there are few fish. Called the North Pacific Gyre, the circular rotation around this area has drawn in anything that floats. Eighty percent of it is plastic. Marine researcher, Captain Charles Moore, has estimated that this area holds as much as a million pieces of plastic for each square mile of ocean adding up to over 100 million tons of flotsam.

Floating garbage includes plastic shopping bags, pens, cigarette lighters, six pack holders, plastic nets and nurdles. All is near the surface or suspended to as much as 100 feet below the surface. Oceanographer, Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, refers to the area as the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. This is just one indicator of how our throw-away society has directly influenced our environment.

The challenge with plastics today is in reducing our use of disposables and reusing or recycling whenever possible. For example, the common plastic grocery bag can be reused even though few bother. However, most communities now have drop-off locations for recycling plastic bags. Many grocery stores voluntarily participate. According to the American Chemistry Council approximately 64% of recycled plastic bags are made into composite lumber and other construction material.

Canvass shopping bags are becoming popular for obvious environmental reasons. Many stores have a financial incentive such as charging for bags or granting a discount for bringing your own. As more people become aware of how our lifestyles trash the environment, the future growth of disposables such as plastic isn't as bright as 40 years ago.