MARINE DEBRIS - Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 45

The top ten items found during the cleanup were (1) ciga-
rettes/filters, 2,117,931; (2) food wrappers/containers, 1,140,222;
(3) plastic beverage bottles, 1,065,171; (4) plastic bags, 1,019,902;
(5) caps/lids, 958,893; (6) cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons,
692,767; (7) straws/stirrers, 611,048; (8) glass beverage bottles,
521,730; (9) beverage cans, 339,875; and (10) paper bags, 298,332.
Of course, cigarettes would comprise a much smaller fraction
if the amounts were calculated by weight or volume.
The Cayman Islands' main tourist attraction is its marine
life and beaches. From far away these beaches look beauti-
ful, but during an international coastal clean-up, in one and a
half hours volunteers filled 98 garbage bags with about 1,500
pounds of trash from just six miles of Caymans' beaches. Most
of the waste was, not surprisingly, plastic, with bottles and
containers accounting for over 50% of the waste. Of the 12 seas
surveyed by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) between 2005 and 2007, the Southeast Pacific, North
Pacific, East Asian Sea, and Caribbean coasts contained the
most litter, and the Caspian, Mediterranean, and Red Seas
had the least. Studies of the Baltic Sea, Northeast Atlantic, the
United States coastline, and the North Atlantic Subtropical
Gyre indicated no major changes in the amount of litter
between 1986 and 2008. Within the United States, however, lit-
ter increased from 1997-2007.
The actual amounts are far greater than estimated from
surveys of floating litter, since much of the heavier material
sinks, and much of the lighter material is pushed downward
in the water by currents. Winds blow light pieces of plastic
down below the surface, causing researchers to greatly under-
estimate the amount of plastic.
Why does debris accumulate in large patches in the
middle of the ocean?
Marine debris that does not accumulate along shorelines can be
blown by the wind or follow the flow of ocean currents, often