• An estimated 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles in the North Pacific are killed every year by waste plastic in the seas.
• Between 70% and 100% of seabirds in the North Pacific (depending on species and location) are affected by mistakenly eating plastic.
• There is an area the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific where waste plastic accrues, gathered by ocean currents. There are six pounds of plastic for every one pound of zooplankton, the dominant life form in the area.

Roz's route across the Pacific will take her close to this area, dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Caught in the swirl
Caught in the centre of the North Pacific Gyre (a vast swirling vortex formed by ocean currents), the accumulation of plastic grows as waste is drawn in from all over the ocean. Rather than biodegrading, plastic photodegrades, disintegrating into smaller and smaller pieces.

The smaller the pieces, the lower down the food chain they are consumed – meaning that they are accumulating to higher and higher levels near the top of the food chain. Eventually they are consumed by the ultimate predator – human beings.

The digestion process releases toxic chemicals from the plastic. The chemicals are then absorbed into the body’s tissues, leading to sickness and disease.

Polluted paradise
The islands of Hawaii are being badly affected by plastic pollution, threatening the sea life in the waters around this tropical paradise. Click here to learn about what local organizations are doing to help.

“Most of the plastic in the oceans comes from the land,” explains Roz. “Litter and blow-out from landfills is washed into storm drains, streams and rivers and eventually ends up in the ocean.” Once there, it kills turtles, fish, marine mammals and seabirds, as well as alter the chemistry of the water. “We cannot continue treating the oceans like an open sewer or we will pay a heavy price.”

Click here to find out what you can do to help.

Roz recommends the Blue Frontier Campaign's book, 50 Ways to Save the Ocean. To read the chapter on plastic pollution, click here.