the Great Pacific Garbage Patch , the mass of rubbish floating in earth between Hawaii and Texas , is 500 times larger than thought, and is actually twice the size of Texas , according to a study in Scientific Reports. As we previously highlighted, it is becoming a "ticking time bomb" and growing at such a pace that it is visible from space. The study estimates that the patch covers 1.6 million sq km , and within that there are around 80,000 tonnes of plastic. To put that in perspective, the researchers note that 80,000 tons of plastic has the heft of 500 jumbo jets. While global plastic production continues to skyrocket, very little of it gets recycled.
the Great Pacific Garbage Patch , the mass of rubbish floating in earth between Hawaii and Texas , is 500 times larger than thought, and is actually twice the size of Texas , according to a study in Scientific Reports. As we previously highlighted, it is becoming a "ticking time bomb" and growing at such a pace that it is visible from space. The study estimates that the patch covers 1.6 million sq km , and within that there are around 80,000 tonnes of plastic. While global plastic production continues to skyrocket, very little of it gets recycled.