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A '''garbage patch''' is a [[Ocean gyre|gyre]] of [[marine debris]] particles caused by the effects of [[Ocean current|ocean currents]] and increasing [[plastic pollution]] by human populations. These human-caused collections of plastic and other debris, cause ecosystem and environmental problems that affect marine life, contaminate oceans with toxic chemicals, and contribute to [[greenhouse gas emissions]]. Once waterborne, marine debris becomes mobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of [[Oceanic gyre|oceanic gyres]] where currents are weakest. Garbage patches grow because of widespread loss of plastic from human trash collection systems.
The [[United Nations Environmental Program]] estimated that "for every square mile of ocean" there are about "46,000 pieces of plastic."<ref name=":2">{{cite book|last=Maser |first=Chris|title=Interactions of Land, Ocean and Humans: A Global Perspective |publisher=CRC Press|year=2014 |isbn=978-1482226393|pages=147–48}}</ref> The 10 largest emitters of oceanic plastic pollution worldwide are, from the most to the least, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jambeck|first1=Jenna R. |last2=Geyer|first2=Roland|last3=Wilcox|first3=Chris |date=12 February 2015|title=Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
The best known of these is the [[Great Pacific garbage patch]] which has the highest density of marine debris and plastic. Other identified patches include the [[North Atlantic garbage patch]] between North America and Africa, the [[South Atlantic garbage patch]] located between eastern South America and the tip of Africa, the [[South Pacific garbage patch]] located west of South America, and the [[Indian Ocean garbage patch]] found east of south Africa listed in order of decreasing size.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cózar |first1=Andrés |last2=Echevarría |first2=Fidel |last3=González-Gordillo |first3=J. Ignacio |last4=Irigoien |first4=Xabier |last5=Úbeda |first5=Bárbara |last6=Hernández-León |first6=Santiago |last7=Palma |first7=Álvaro T. |last8=Navarro |first8=Sandra |last9=García-de-Lomas |first9=Juan |last10=Ruiz |first10=Andrea |last11=Fernández-de-Puelles |first11=María L. |date=2014-07-15 |title=Plastic debris in the open ocean |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=111 |issue=28 |pages=10239–10244 |bibcode=2014PNAS..11110239C |doi=10.1073/pnas.1314705111 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4104848 |pmid=24982135 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In the [[Ocean gyre|Pacific Gyre]], specifically 20°N-40°N latitude, large bodies with floating marine debris can be found.<ref name="debris north pacific">{{cite web|date=24 July 2015|title=Marine Debris in the North Pacific A Summary of Existing Information and Identification of Data Gaps|url=http://www.epa.gov/region9/marine-debris/pdf/MarineDebris-NPacFinalAprvd.pdf|website=United States Environmental Protection Agency}}</ref> Models of wind patterns and ocean currents indicate that the plastic waste in the northern Pacific is particularly dense where the Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ), meets a southwest–northeast line, found north of the [[Hawaiian archipelago]].<ref name="debris north pacific" />
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=== Effects on marine life ===
The [[2017 United Nations Ocean Conference]] estimated that the oceans might contain more weight in plastics than fish by the year 2050.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wright|first=Pam |date=6 June 2017|title=UN Ocean Conference: Plastics Dumped In Oceans Could Outweigh Fish by 2050, Secretary-General Says|publisher=The Weather Channel |url=https://weather.com/science/environment/news/united-nations-ocean-conference-antonio-guterres-plastics|access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref> Some long-lasting plastics end up in the stomachs of marine animals.<ref name="natural history2">{{cite magazine|last=Moore|first=Charles |date=November 2003|title=Across the Pacific Ocean, plastics, plastics, everywhere |url=http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/master.html?http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/1103/1103_feature.html |magazine=[[Natural History (magazine)|Natural History Magazine]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Holmes|first=Krissy|date=18 January 2014 |title=Harbour snow dumping dangerous to environment: biologist|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/harbour-snow-dumping-dangerous-to-environment-biologist-1.2501993}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jan Pronk|url=https://www.pri.org/person/jan-pronk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606221847/http://www.globalpost.com/taxonomy/term/38249|archive-date=6 June 2014|website=Public Radio International}}</ref> Plastic attracts seabirds and fish. When marine life consumes plastic allowing it to enter the food chain, this can lead to greater problems when species that have consumed plastic are then eaten by other predators.
Animals can also become trapped in plastic nets and rings, which can cause death. Plastic pollution affects at least 700 marine species, including sea turtles, seals, seabirds, fish, whales, and dolphins.<ref>{{cite web|date=2019-04-22|title=These 5 Marine Animals Are Dying Because of Our Plastic Trash… Here's How We Can Help|url=https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/marine-animals-are-dying-because-of-our-plastic-trash/|access-date=2020-06-10|website=One Green Planet|language=en}}</ref> Cetaceans have been sighted within the patch, which poses entanglement and ingestion risks to animals using the Great Pacific garbage patch as a migration corridor or core habitat.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gibbs|first1=Susan E.|last2=Salgado Kent|first2=Chandra P.|last3=Slat|first3=Boyan|last4=Morales|first4=Damien|last5=Fouda|first5=Leila|last6=Reisser|first6=Julia|date=9 April 2019|title=Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch|journal=Marine Biodiversity|volume=49|issue=4|pages=2021–27|doi=10.1007/s12526-019-00952-0|doi-access=free}}</ref>
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==== Entanglement ====
Not all marine life is affected by the consumption of plastic. Some instead find themselves tangled in larger pieces of garbage that cause just as much harm as the barely visible microplastics.<ref name=":22" /> Trash that has the possibility of wrapping itself around a living organism may cause strangulation or drowning.<ref name=":22" /> If the trash gets stuck around a ligament that is not vital for airflow, the ligament may grow with a malformation.<ref name=":22" /> Plastic’s existence in the ocean becomes cyclical because marine life that is killed by it ultimately decompose in the ocean, re-releasing the plastics into the ecosystem.<ref>{{cite web|title=Plastic pollution found inside dead seabirds|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/plastic-pollution-found-inside-dead-seabirds-1-3729064|access-date=2019-11-08|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
== References ==
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