It's not something you'd expect to see in the middle of the ocean.

Near the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Sanctuary, the glassy waters are marred by a floating line of plastic debris.

"You can see a broken piece of packing strap, say for instance, to hold down a piece of cement on a pallet," said Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, California.

Moore collected the tiny pieces of trash on board his research vessel during a recent trip through what's known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Ocean currents churn clockwise and pull debris from around the Pacific Rim into two dead zones. One is between Japan and Hawaii. The other stretches between Hawaii and California which Moore has traveled through numerous times.

The highway of debris is estimated to cover an area about twice the size of Texas, though the size has been disputed. Most of the trash is plastic and the amount is growing at an alarming rate.

"We measured the weight of the plastic and we measured the weight of the plankton," Moore said, "and we published in 1999 with levels 6 to 1. Now, we're seeing levels in the 40's to 1."

Some of the trash that doesn't stay in the patches travel down to Hawaii. And about 40 miles out to sea from the south point of the Big Island, fishermen say, there is a similar highway of garbage

Over the weekend, that's what Captain Moore and crew went looking for. They didn't find much off South Point, but about 30-miles northeast of Hilo, they found millions of tiny pieces of plastic and debris in a trail stretching 15-miles long.

Over time, the elements break the plastic into dust and into a danger for marine life. They mistake the pieces for food and die from starvation when their stomachs are full of plastic.

"We think the brighter colors are being eaten first, that's why when we see plastic particles here in Hawaii, they are mostly blues, greens, blacks, clear and white."

Fishermen and locals have known about the problem for years because a lot of the trash ends up on the Big Island's Kamilo Beach. It looks more like a landfill.

"It's like a toilet bowl that doesn't flush pretty much," said Nicole Zellner, about the garbage in the ocean.

Zellner is a marine science major at the University of Hawaii, Hilo. She is one of several students working with Moore, analyzing debris found on Kamilo Beach and comparing that to debris Moore found on shores across the Pacific.

The goal is to see where the trash is coming from and how much ends up on Hawaii beaches.

The reality is the plastic pieces are too small for anyone to completely clean up.

After 10 years of study, Moore said the solution is up to individuals, to make sure the trash they use doesn't end up in the ocean.

The Garbage Patch - KGMB9.com Extra

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