The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest garbage dump in the world and is located in the North Pacific Ocean. Half the size of the US and stretches for thousands of kilometers and is made up only of trash caused by humans. About 10 percent of all plastic produced on earth ends up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This makes up an estimated 10 million tons. About 80 percent of debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is originated from land. This debris is mostly made up of plastic bags and bottles. According to the United Nations, 10 percent of the garbage is made up of fishing nets that have a total weight of about 705,000 tons. 

The diagram below shows where the great Pacific garbage patch is located and the currents that are responsible for the patch because of holding the garbage together. 

The great Pacific garbage patch has formed throughout many years by garbage and plastic floating from the coasts around the world with the currents into the North Pacific ocean. Today there are two parts of the garbage patch. The North West garbage patch between Hawaii and Japan and the North East patch between Hawaii and California.

The Garbage Patch has an enormous negative impact on the Environment, on animals and on us human. The enormous amounts of garbage destroy and pollute the ocean and the environment more and more every year. Today 45 kg of trash come on to every 1 kg of plankton. Furthermore, every year millions of marine animals and birds die because of eating plastic, entangling themselves in garbage such as in fishing nets or hurt themselves because of huge garbage pieces floating at the surface or laying on the ocean ground.

 However, humans are often not aware that through contaminating the environment and the Oceans through their garbage, they harm themselves. Studies have shown that 35% of fish in the Pacific ocean that humans consume contain plastic pieces and particles in their body. This number can of course increase in the next couple of years if the garbage patch continues to grow at this rate. 

The great Pacific garbage patch was first discovered in 1997 by an Californian sailor Charles Moore, who sailed from Hawaii to California and discovered an enormous area of trash in the North East Pacific.