In the Pacific Ocean, a floating garbage dump exists between Hawaii and California that is hundreds of thousands square miles wide and has been estimated to contain approximately 3.5 million tons of debris.
This “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is the most extreme example of a serious nationwide and international problem: plastic pollution dumped into the oceans and waterways.
As director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) marine debris program, it is Holly Bamford’s role to coordinate nationwide clean-up efforts, collaborate internationally on solutions to problems such as the garbage patch and develop prevention methods.
“Marine debris knows no political boundaries. It is an international problem,” Bamford said. “The vision of the program down the road is global oceans and coasts free of the impact of marine debris. The whole purpose is to protect our marine environment.”
Though types of debris vary, from land-based to ocean-based sources, there is a common origin: people. “Marine debris does not fall out of the sky, it comes from someone’s hands,” Bamford said. “We are the main cause of the problem, but also the key to the solution.”