Page 8 - Pacific Garbage Patch News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Key marine species can serve as bioindicators to measure how much plastic exists in different ocean regions.

Ocean cleanup technology can help, but experts say it's not enough, and there needs to be more action taken to stop plastics at the source

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch stretches for 610,000 square miles between California and Hawai’i. The gyre hosts around 79,000 metric tons of microplastics, nets, buoys and bottles. And, surprisingly, coastal life. Scientists found coastal animals like anemones, hydroids and shrimp-like amphipods living on plastic collected from the open ocean.

New scientific studies of pregnant Americans show most are exposed to a host of potentially toxic chemicals. Globally, pollution kills 9 million a year.

Americans have long been encouraged to reduce, reuse and recycle. But less than 9% of plastic is recycled in the U.S.