THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH1
This article talks about “The great Pacific Garbage Patch”, which was first discovered in
the year 1988. According to this article, great Pacific Garbage Patch is a heap of marine debris,
which is the result of constant plastic accumulation. As per the estimation provided by the
article, every year, plastic materials of nearly 2.41 million tonnes are being added to North
Pacific Ocean. This article states that the sources of this plastic material, are rivers or other water
bodies. Researchers have marked the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’, as the biggest of all the
plots marked as plastic accumulation plots (The Ocean Cleanup, 2019).
Identification of the sustainability theme in the article:
For the purpose of identifying the theme of sustainability, first the question related to the
issue of sustainability should be discovered. According to this article, most of the plastic in the
garbage patch is lighter as compared to water. Moreover, they are not decomposable. This is
indicative of the fact that, when the plastics will enter the sea, neither will it sink nor decompose
into the sea water. Rather, it will pile up on the surface of the sea-water and form a ‘plastic
island’. Scientists has also explained that, it is very dangerous and the plastic entered through
rivers lakes and other water-bodies will are reluctant to be degraded into smaller microplastics.
Even if they are transformed into the smaller microplastics, trey will not decompose. Both the
larger plastics aw ell as the smaller microplastics are harmful for aquatic animals. This is because
sometimes the larger aquatic animals attempt to eat plastics which are not degraded into
microplastics. With their attempt to eat indecomposable material they invite their deaths. This is
because, their stomach fails to digest plastic material. Same happens with the smaller aquatic
animals, even when the larger plastics are transformed into smaller micro-plastics. Again, it is
true that, even if larger plastics are turned into smaller microplastic, due to the excessive use of

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and its Impact on Sustainability

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