The shocking scale of the largest garbage dump in the ocean has been revealed (7 photos + 1 video)
26 June 2024
Images released by the nonprofit Ocean Cleanup show the shocking scale of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world's largest landfill on water. 
The area of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 1.6 million square kilometers. This huge trash heap contains 100,000 tons of discarded items, including household appliances, toys and fishing equipment. Most waste comes from developed countries such as China, Japan, Korea and the USA.
The garbage patch, first discovered in 1997, has grown rapidly since then, threatening marine life and releasing microplastics into the atmosphere.
In 2019, the nonprofit Ocean Cleanup launched a $189 million project to remove trash from the ocean over the next 10 years. Their revolutionary technology, known as System 3, safely removes debris without harming marine life.
The System 3 machine collects all the plastic into what looks like a large bag, leaving the fish unharmed. The system is designed in such a way that when collecting garbage it does not harm marine life. A special sound scares them away, and there are also special holes - escape routes for living creatures that accidentally get inside along with the garbage.
The Ocean Cleanup project was conceived and founded by scuba diver Boyan Slat. He was extremely depressed by the fact that in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea there is “more plastic than fish.” According to the head of the Ocean Cleanup, Matthias Egger, the project aims to “remove trash from the ocean while it is still possible and prevent an environmental time bomb.”
Egger emphasized that 80% of the debris in the patch is discarded fishing equipment. Despite the popular belief that plastic pollution comes mainly from developing countries, Ocean Cleanup found that the main source is the developed world.
Egger also warned of the dangers of microplastic particles created by decomposing trash: “They are ubiquitous and pose a serious threat to marine life, human health and ecosystems.”
