THE BIG OCEAN CLEAN

AN AMBITIOUS PLAN IS SETTING OUT TO REMOVE PLASTIC FROM THE WORLD'S GREATEST OCEAN

- BEN LOWINGS

Viewed from space, the endless blues of the Pacific ocean are the most obvious feature of Earth. Though not visible to those orbiting our planet, of equally vast proportions and fast-becoming the Pacific's most notorious feature - is the Great Garbage Patch.

This oceanic gyre, or set of gyres, covers areas in the North Pacific where surface currents and wind aggregate plastic waste of various sizes. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch spans the entire North Pacific ocean, stretching from the west coast of the United States to Japan. Scientists believe it is actually comprised of two spinning areas, one in the north-east Pacific, the other centred in the north-west. The Hawaiian island chain sits slightly below and between them. The two patches exchange floating debris in a subtropical convergence zone, where cold currents coming down from Alaska meet warm currents coming up from the equatorial Pacific.

Because the whole of the North Pacific has circular currents along its boundaries, material flushed into the sea from coasts tends to keep getting swept along and, as if in a whirlpool, it congregates towards the centre.

Log on to vessel tracking websites and you may be able to see two small ships determinedly trying their best to clean this patch up: the Danish-flagged Maersk Trader and Maersk Tender. Both might be steaming at just a knot or so, side by side, and have been on their latest plastic harvesting in the subtropical Pacific since March 2024.

The Maersk Trader and Tender are conjoined by a tow. Two plastic wings pull along a device that sweeps floating plastic into a seine net. This huge sack is known as the Retention Zone. Once this collecting device is ready to be emptied, it is hauled aboard one of the ships.