They estimate an 80,000 metric tons in the patch, with 1.8 trillion plastic pieces, out of which 92% of the mass is to be found in objects larger than 0.5 centimeters.[7][63][8]. Everything from single-use utensils to tables and chairs are made of plastic. Such estimates, however, are conjectural given the complexities of sampling and the need to assess findings against other areas. [40] China alone is responsible for 30% of worldwide plastic ocean pollution. Because of the convergent nature of this Ekman flow, densities tend to be high in Transitional Water. [6] 92% of the mass in the patch comes from objects larger than 0.5 centimeters, while 94% of the total objects are represented by microplastics. In 2015, the organization crossed the Great Pacific garbage patch with 30 vessels, to make observations and take samples with 652 survey nets. It assesses measures that can reduce shipping emissions effectively and describes possible decarbonisation pathways that use different combinations of these measures. Global shipping is responsible for approximately 30% of total global nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Auke Bay, Alaska)", "Across the Pacific Ocean, plastics, plastics, everywhere", "Continent-size toxic stew of plastic trash fouling swath of Pacific Ocean", "A raft made of junk crosses Pacific in 3 months", "Raft made of junk bottles crosses Pacific", "Expedition Sets Sail to the Great Plastic Vortex", "Increased oceanic microplastic debris enhances oviposition in an endemic pelagic insect", "Scientists Find 'Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, "This Is What It's Like to Sail in the Pacific Trash Vortex", "Pacific Ocean garbage mostly from home, not Japan tsunami", "Plastic problem plagues Pacific, researchers say", "How the oceans can clean themselves – Boyan Slat at TEDxDelft", "TEDxDelft 2012 | Boyan Slat: The Marine Litter Extraction Project", "Boyan Slat – Marine Litter Extraction (In Depth)", "Ocean Cleanup project completes Great Pacific Garbage Patch research expedition", "The garbage patch territory turns into a new state", "Rifiuti diventano stato, Unesco riconosce 'Garbage Patch, "Ocean Cleanup system installed and ready for work at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch", "A project to remove 88,000 tons of plastic from the Pacific has begun", "Environmentalists removed more than 40 tons of trash from the Pacific – and it barely made a dent", "Where did the trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch come from? [15][16][17], In 2009, two project vessels from Project Kaisei,/ Ocean Voyages Institute; the New Horizon and the Kaisei, embarked on a voyage to research the patch and determine the feasibility of commercial scale collection and recycling. Before the advent of sachet packaging, companies had people bring their own containers and fill it with whatever they needed. Debris is generated at sea from fishing vessels, stationary platforms, and cargo ships.

[77] Fish and whales may also mistake the plastic as a food source. Market-based instruments, such as taxes, aimed at preventing single-use plastics can reduce the generation of plastic waste and its leakage into the environment. [67] As the plastic flotsam photodegrades into smaller and smaller pieces, it concentrates in the upper water column. [8] A similar patch of floating plastic debris is found in the Atlantic Ocean, called the North Atlantic garbage patch.