<P> The Great Pacific garbage patch, also described as the Pacific trash vortex, is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean discovered between 1985 and 1988 . It is located roughly between 135 ° W to 155 ° W and 35 ° N and 42 ° N. The patch extends over an indeterminate area of widely varying range depending on the degree of plastic concentration used to define the affected area . </P> <P> The patch is characterized by exceptionally high relative concentrations of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre . Its low density (4 particles per cubic meter) prevents detection by satellite photography, or even by casual boaters or divers in the area . It consists primarily of a small increase in suspended, often microscopic, particles in the upper water column . </P>

Where does all the plastic go in the ocean