SCIENTISTS INSTALL A FLOATING BARRIER By Ruiyu Tang

    AN ENORMOUS FLOATING BARRIER WILL HELP CLEAN 90% OF THE PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH BY 2040.

         When scientists last visited the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in September 2016, they estimated that it was 1.6 million square kilometers. They believe it’s composed of 1.3 trillion pieces of plastic and weighs around 80,000 tons. To put that into context; that’s the size of Egypt doubled! Now how are scientists going to clean up all that garbage? Plastic is really hard to decompose. Scientists have found pieces of plastic dating back to the 1960s. Well Boyan Slat, a dutch-born inventor came up with a idea.

        He installed gigantic floating tubes called booms around the patch which will trap the plastic so that scientists can slowly pick up the trash. The barrier is 2,000 feet long!!! They’re shaped in a U and are 10 feet deep. Due to its u-shape, The Ocean Cleanup says the debris will be funneled into the center of the barrier. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been affecting ocean life for a long time. Scientists have found plastic in fish for over 10 years. Also, plastic can trap fish and make them run out of air. The barrier will help move plastic to the top so ocean life can safely swim underneath. I think this is idea is cool because because of how big the garbage patch is. I wonder how hard it will be to clean up that much garbage?!