《Plastic Debris Washed Ashore》.pdfVIP

Plastic Debris Washed Ashore Is this a photograph of a coastal landfill or an uninhabited beach on a island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Beaches around the world are littered with plastic debris. Even the most remote islands, uninhabited by human beings, are becoming inundated with non-biodegradable plastics. Researchers from the Marine Science Department at the University of Hawaii analyzed plastic debris from nine remote locations throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago. Their findings are alarming. A total of 22 20-liter buckets of sand scooped from the surface of the remote beach were collected from the nine sites. The samples were sieved for pieces that were between 1mm and 15mm in size. 28% of the sample, by weight, was plant material, fragments from mollusk shells, or large grains of sand. Of the sample collected, 72 % was plastic! 19,100 pieces of plastic were sorted from the sample. 11% were pre- production pellets, called “nurdles”. Plastic Debris on the Move A Floating Landfill in our Ocean Gyres Oceanic gyres are circular ocean currents created by rotating high-pressure systems. Nine major oceanic gyres around the world have become accumulation zones for plastic debris, drawing hundreds of tons of plastic into their centers. Plastic is Forever Plastic debris in an oceanic gyre may never leave. After decades of floating about, plastic may break down into smaller particles, get absorbed into the food chain, or sink and become part of ocean bottom sediment. Algalita Marine Research Foundation - 148 N. Marina Drive · Long Beach, CA 90803 562-598-4889 fax – 562-598-0712 Algalita Marine Research Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation Plastic Debris Adrift in the Pacific Ocean The North Pacifi