The Great Garbage Patch

In 1988, the Great Garbage Patch was first discovered by Charles J. Moore. He first found it as he was sailing home and he came upon a huge stretch of floating debris. Most of the waste was plastic since the Earth cannot digest it. The mess stretched across the North Pacific Ocean including the coastal waters off North America and Japan. As it grows in "swirling" seas, the ratio grows of plastic to sea life, 6:1. There is approximately 3.5 million tons of debris that's about the size of Texas. Since there is more trash to animals, some eat the debris and die. At this time, people are sending out vessels with "plastic-harvesting" nets to catch the garbage and try to clean up the large mess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnUjTHB1lvM