The Great Pacific Garbage Dump

How did a beach in Hawaii get covered in trash?

The filth comes from the world's largest garbage dump, found not on land but in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located 1,000 miles northeast of Hawaii. Yet few people seem to know about it. It is hundreds of miles wide and carries a startling 100 million tons of trash, mostly discarded plastic. 9% of fish there have been found with plastic in their stomachs.
    
How is that possible?

Ocean and wind currents literally collect millions of pounds of discarded plastic. Some clumps are visible, others are broken down into a soupy mix hidden below the surface, making clean up almost impossible.

Oceanographer Captain Charles Moore showed INSIDE EDITION what he found on the beaches of Hawaii's big island.

What we found was hundreds of toothbrushes, discarded umbrella handles, and a bag of what looks like sand at first glance.

Moving his hand around the bad, Captain Moore said, "This is the new sand." That new sand is actually fine grains of plastic.
 
Pro volleyball player and environmental advocate Gabrielle Reece is appalled by the pacific garbage dump and said all of us can do something about it.
 
Reese said, "I'm guilty, I'm a mom we have straws on everything so I have a glass straw for adults certainly not kids and a stainless steel straw."

Actress Amy Smart is also sounding the alarm. Smart said, "When you see the pictures of the garbage patch and the enormity of it all it really hits home."

It is a shocking sight but The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is just one of five ocean dumps in the world's once beautiful oceans.