The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Not What You Think It Is | The Swim

It's not an island twice the size of Texas. But it is severely impacting marine life and human health... and incredibly hard to study.

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What Happens to the Plastic We Throw Out
"Henderson Island is a tiny, uninhabited island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 3,000 miles from major population centers. Though it is half the size of Manhattan, more than 19 tons of trash litter its white, sandy beaches. Researchers estimate that it has the highest concentration of debris of any place in the world, for a total of over 37 million pieces on the entirety of the small island. For every square meter you walk, on average you’ll find 672 pieces of trash. For each visible piece of debris on the beach in the video above, two pieces are buried in the sand. How does so much trash wash ashore on Henderson Island?"

We know ocean plastic is a problem. We can’t fix it until we answer these 5 questions.
"Ocean plastic has, in a pretty short time, become a surprisingly potent international environmental movement.For one, there’s more awareness now about the astounding quantity of plastic — between 4.7 and 12.8 million metric tons — floating around in the ocean. As the World Economic Forum put it, this volume is 'equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean per minute.' But what about large-scale, long-term plastic reduction? Shouldn’t we also be working toward that?"

A running list of action on plastic pollution
"THE WORLD HAS a plastic pollution problem and it’s snowballing—but so is public awareness and action.
Each year, an estimated 18 billion pounds of plastic waste enters the world’s ocean from coastal regions. That’s about equivalent to five grocery bags of plastic trash piled up on every foot of coastline on the planet. New research is emerging apace about the possible long-term impacts of tiny pieces of plastic on the marine food chain—raising fresh questions about how it might ultimately impact human health and food security. The world is waking up to a crisis of ocean plastic—and we're tracking the developments and solutions as they happen."

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Ben Lecomte's historic swim across the Pacific Ocean is a feat that can’t be missed. Join us as we dive into the most extensive data set of the Pacific Ocean ever collected. Learn about the technology the Seeker crew is using to deter sharks away from Ben and measure the impact of the long-distance swim on his mind and body. Ben's core mission is to raise awareness for ocean health issues, so we’ll investigate key topics such as pollution and plastics as he swims closer to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, discover potential consequences from climate change, and examine how factors like ocean currents can impact his progress along the way.

Seeker explains every aspect of our world through a lens of science, inspiring a new generation of curious minds who want to know how today’s discoveries in science, math, engineering and technology are impacting our lives, and shaping our future. Our stories parse meaning from the noise in a world of rapidly changing information.

[Seeker]

Ocean health is so important, we're dedicating an entire week to raising awareness of the plastic pollution problem! Join us this week, and tell us what you're doing to reduce plastic waste with #JoinTheSwim. 🏊🏻‍♂️🐋

[kensendelofski]

when I was a young boy back in the late 60s and 70s. most things were packaged in paper bags and glass. everyone wanted store's to stop using paper to save the trees. plastic was the answer to everything. appliances were lighter. tools, cars, etc. now look what we have done.

[Master_Therion]

We need to delete the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and download the Clean Ocean Patch.

[marvinraphaelmonfort]

wood toothbrush, metal straw, beeswax for takeaway, cloth tote bags, etc. but companies need to stop making them because people sometimes have no choice but to buy them

[nuralya]

I am very proud that there are still people who care about the environment

[trje]

why is every large area compared to Texas?

[CaribouKH]

Marketing idea for companies: How about instead of having individual soap bottles etc. in the shop, you have a 20 litre fill station. Sell a cool design multi-use bottle to the consumer and charge for refills.
You don't change the gas tank for your car every time you fill up right? Why can't this be a thing for soaps, toothpaste, i.e. everything non-perishable.. or even food stuffs like spices etc.
I just don't get how everyone got on the "no-straws" hype with little affect when this could be a really big thing. Companies could spend a lot less in packaging and shipping while still having great designs and marketing in the fill stations and the multi-use packages. Consumers would get the same thing but could also affect their own "shipping cost" by getting a bigger refillable container (a family of 5 really does not need or want to buy soap in less than litre size bottles).
How is this not a thing?

[alexdeltoro]

Imagine making a whale robot that autonomously eats trash in the ocean.

[slavka]

The problem is that even if you want to use less plastic, you literally can not buy almost anything without it. Food especially

[eoinkeane]

I literally got an ad about trash in the ocean before watching this

[zacharyparis]

Can't talk, going for a swim to get some Nikes.

[Trevor.OKeefe]

Nobody:


Flat Earthers: Just push it off the Earth!

[Ckii]

Things like this remind me of a video where in a public place instead of quick use plastic cups and straws their were metal cups and utensils that dispensed both hot and cold drinks and food. Instead of throwing it in the trash you dumped out whatever you didn't eat or drink and returned it to the machine to be washed and reused. Places that don't let you fill your own containers with food or water are also a part of the issue because they want control over portions and consumption of specific products. Or the issue of possible cross contamination and or unclenly customer containers.

[Ericgen]

Government must force companies to use biodegradabile plastics for packagings. The solution of the problem can’t come from single individuals only. It’s a macro solution that has to be taken. Poor us :(

[sunshine]

A while back I had the chance to help a buddy doing fish gut content analysis. The fish were all caught offshore. We were blown away by the fact that every single fish we looked inside of had consumed plastic. Not a single fish was found without plastic in its stomach!

[suipsy]

Can I join you folks to clean up.... I hate my customer service job taking calls 😡😡.
Atleast cleaning up the ocean is a worth while thing to do. Lot more sensible

[ek]

"No more plastic straws in paper just paper straws wrapped in plastic"
-Tom Macdonald

[oby-]

We need to pay the fishermen who use nets to collect plastic instead of fish. A win/win.

[pennymandy]

when my grandma was young, the invention of plastic was considered one of the best things ever... oh, how much it has changed since then

[lzr_krl]

imagine going fishing and catching an air jordan 1