Scientists Explore Plastic Soup

Scientists have discovered a new field of exploration in the huge rubbish dump known as the North Pacific Byre. The 'ocean desert' located a thousand miles from land, is a rubbish tip, twice the size of New South Wales in Australia.

Roughly 10% of the 260 million tons of plastic created annually ends up in the ocean in a swirling vortex of death, as the currents of the ocean pick up millions of tons of the world's discarded plastic. It covers hundreds of square miles and was first located ten years ago. It is sited between the coastline of California and Hawaii.

Fifty percent of the world's plastic has a one-time use only, such as plates, cups, knives and bottles. It is understood that ninety percent of the world's plastic does not get recycled.

Doug Woodring, the leader of the ocean-health nonprofit Project Kaisei based in Hong Kong, has headed the two separate expeditions, said, "Every single person who has ever been to a beach anywhere has seen plastic, even in the remotest of places."

It is not the amount of plastic that is both on, or just below the top of the ocean, but what has sunk and is sitting on the ocean floor. It is believed that up to 70% of the plastic has disappeared from sight, but not out of the ecosystem.

When a sperm whale washed up in California, its stomach contained 400 kilos of plastic and fish netting. A large amount of the plastic soup has broken into tiny pieces, flooding the ocean with a lethal toxic part of the marine ecosystem. A killer of wild life.

Woodring believes that 80% of the waste plastic is land-based in its origin. "It's coming from rivers, streams, drains, gutters and beaches." He says the plastic tide is an international problem and one that all nations should be accountable for. He congratulated Australia for its annual Australia Clean-up Day, which consciously aims to raise public awareness and clear its beaches of the deadly plastic.

The non-profit organization Project Kaisei, meaning 'Ocean Planet' in Japanese, was set up to expand the understanding and scale of marine debris. According to their website the organization brings together public and private collaborators to design, test and implement break-throughs in science, prevention and remediation.

Project Kaisei is aiming to discover ways to clean up the rubbish and recycle it into fuel.

About Scientists Explore Plastic Soup
For more information:http://www.tropicpost.com/stop-the-killer-plastic/

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