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In all of the oceans of the world there is an increasing problem. Plastic, a wonderfully versatile product, is gathering into a hazardous mess that is killing and maiming sea animals and birds, which could lead potentially to the extinction of large numbers of sea species...

If we look specifically at the example of the northern Pacific Ocean gyre, there are documented studies of the increase of plastic and plastic fragments in this area. This ocean has been given nicknames such as 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’.

This area of the pacific ocean which has collected plastic of various sizes, now spreads over an area of approximately 270,000 sq miles to 5,800,000 sq miles (depending on sources), which has been caused by plastic refuse making its way through our waterways in to the oceans.

The pollution collects and concentrates in areas known as ‘gyres’, which are the currents in the oceans.

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Plastic, even modern biodegradable plastic, takes a long time to break down. Therefore, the problem is getting worse and not better in the foreseeable future.

The plastic pollution found in ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ is not unique as it is occurring in different levels in all of the world’s oceans. Also in the past there have been some misconceptions reported about the type and size of plastic found, it is not as often reported, large objects or a 'floating island', but is mostly made up of small pieces, approximately the size of confetti or smaller.

These small pieces of plastic can have a devastating effect on marine life who eat them mistaking them for food. Fish, birds and other marine life can choke or starve from ingesting the plastic which does not break down in their stomachs. There is also an increasing problem of issue of foreign organisms travelling on plastic in to new territories, where potentially they can become a pest, an invader.