Most of our garbage today is made up of plastic. Plastic is made of petroleum and the earth cannot digest the petroleum. Almost every little piece of plastic that has been created has not broken down in the landfills, or in the ocean. Some plastic the get incinerated, but that releases toxic chemicals. In the ocean plastic accumulates in seas of debris. PLastic to sea life ratios are 6:1. Birds and mammals are dying of starvation and dehydration. They’re bellies are full of plastic. fish are ingesting toxins at a rate that will soon not be safe to eat.
The pacific garbage patch is roughly the size of Texas. It contains about 3.5 tons of trash. The Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest garbage dump in the world. There are also many animals that are affected by the Pacific Garbage Patch like sea birds , turtles, and beluga whales. They get caught in the nets and swallow pieces of plastic floating in the water. Experts say plastic trash has already killed millions of sea birds and marine mammals. In one case, pieces of plastic and a cigarette lighter were found in the stomach of a dead albatross.
