Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (2014)

• What is plastic made of?

• Where does plastic go?

• Almost every molecule of plastic ever created is still on the Earth 

• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is under US control and it is restricted 

• Tens of thousands of pounds of plastic wash up on Midway island every year, forcing its very small population to deal with it 

• There is no island — the debris is dispersed 

• Captain Charles Moore discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch 

• All of the debris from North America and Asia collect in a centralized zone that is in between twice the size of Texas and the size of the US

• Most of the debris is located beneath the surface 

• Midway and Northwest Hawaii islands are the victims because they act as “combs” that catch the plastic waste 

• Plastic solved the resource shortage crisis during world war 2

• 25 million taxpayer dollars are spent cleaning up the plastic mess every year 

• Plastic comes from oil and gas companies 

• Biological magnification in fish and other marine animals

• Persistent organic pollutants — mainly pesticides and insecticides 

• Coral reefs impacted by discarded fish nets 

• BPA found on thermal paper, such as receipts, can be absorbed into the skin and cause endocrine disruption and has bioaccumulated in animals along with DDT and PCB from plastics