Garbage Patches News

Garbage Patches

The term "garbage patch" most often refers to a nebulous, floating junk yard on the high seas. Two of the most famous are the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the more-recently discovered Great Atlantic Garbage Patch.

It's the poster child for a worldwide problem: plastic that begins in human hands yet ends up in the ocean, often inside animals' stomachs or around their necks.

Articles about Garbage Patches

A 'great garbage patch' grows in the Great Lakes

Wed, Apr 10 2013 at 11:03 AM

New research finds that the Great Lakes are becoming polluted with the same plastic particles responsible for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Why are people eating their own trash? [Infographic]

Fri, Feb 01 2013 at 4:18 PM

The ocean food web is contaminated by trash and garbage, and it's ending up in our diets.
Sea trash spiraling out of control, study finds

Thu, Jan 10 2013 at 10:33 AM

Earth now has five or six major ocean garbage patches, and new research suggests they'll continue growing for 'at least the next thousand years.'
Biodegradable plastic: What you need to know

Wed, Dec 05 2012 at 5:29 PM

Biodegradable plastic has been touted as an eco-friendly solution, but does it live up to its reputation?
Method's sea trash-based soap bottle to debut this fall

Tue, Jul 31 2012 at 3:10 PM

At long last, Method is set to release the world's first soap container — or any sort of container, for that matter — made partially from plastic trash recovered from the beaches of Hawaii.
Tsunami debris adds to Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Thu, Jul 12 2012 at 9:09 AM

Video: The trash accumulating in the Pacific Ocean — scientists estimate there are 1.5 million tons of tsunami debris alone — is arriving on the West Coast.
Centuries-old trash carpets Sydney Harbor

Thu, Jun 21 2012 at 3:36 PM

Sydney is haunted by sunken garbage, some of it up to 200 years old. But divers are now working to clean up the mess one piece of trash at a time.
Islands of plastic give bugs a new place to breed in open ocean

Wed, May 09 2012 at 10:36 AM

An abundance of oceanic water striders could be 'good' for the crabs that munch on the insect, but food for the strider could become harder to find.
Pacific plastic soup grew 100-fold

Wed, May 09 2012 at 1:44 AM

The vast swirl of plastic waste floating in the North Pacific has grown 100-fold over the last 40 years, according to a research paper.
'Garbology': How our everyday trash eventually becomes our food

Fri, May 04 2012 at 10:08 PM

In his book, 'Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash,' author Edward Humes tracks the journey of garbage around the world and back into the food chain.

MNN - Mother Nature Network

Garbage Patches

Articles about Garbage Patches

A 'great garbage patch' grows in the Great Lakes

Why are people eating their own trash? [Infographic]

Sea trash spiraling out of control, study finds

Biodegradable plastic: What you need to know

Method's sea trash-based soap bottle to debut this fall

Tsunami debris adds to Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Centuries-old trash carpets Sydney Harbor

Islands of plastic give bugs a new place to breed in open ocean

Pacific plastic soup grew 100-fold

'Garbology': How our everyday trash eventually becomes our food

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