Household Needs

In past centuries on beaches everywhere, including those encircling the Hawaiian

islands, beachcombing could be a profitable business, offering a potential treasure

chest of material washed ashore from ships sailing the vast oceans. Today what is

washed up on most beaches is far less appealing or rewarding and is only a small part

of the massive amount of pollution that is dumped or flushed into the sea every year.

The world’s largest marine reserve sits next to one of the world’s largest floating

garbage dumps. Between Hawaii and the United States mainland is the North Pacific

Gyre, the epicenter of a giant circulating system of winds and currents encompassing

the whole North Pacific. Plastic pollution from Asia, the Pacific and North America is

sucked into this area, where it mingles with sea life, choking and ensnaring marine

wildlife, and disturbing every level of the food chain.

Estimated to be the size of Texas, this phenomenon provides a stark reminder of the

threat that plastic poses to marine life. Because it doesn’t break down, such pollution

can linger for years affecting marine environments far from where it entered the

ocean.