Dear Future President,

Ocean pollution is becoming a major problem in our world today. It is something that is not just affecting us but is more affecting animals and other sea life that live in the ocean.

The biggest garbage dump in the world is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is called the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is held together by currents that help keep the Garbage Patch in one area, and it just keeps on expanding as more and more garbage is put out to sea. The “ Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ consists of mostly small plastic bits that float below the surface, since most plastic isn’t biodegradable, this trash keeps swirling around for years often crumbling into smaller pieces but refusing to breakdown.

Currents are streams of water that flow like rivers in the ocean. In the Pacific Ocean several currents make a huge swirl called gyre. Animals can be harmed when they swim through a trash filled gyre. They might eat the garbage or get caught in it. According to the Environmental group Greenpeace, at least 267 different kinds of sea creatures have been harmed by plastic in the Ocean. The gyre is bigger than the state of Texas.

Although some of the garbage in our oceans comes from ships and the fishing industry, about 80 percent of it comes from land. The Garbage Patch is evidence we are not handling our waste well on land. People can make a huge difference by making less garbage on land.

This is a problem that we all may be able to fix if we all work together to create less garbage on land and save the animals in the ocean.

Sincerely,

Kayla S.