Journey to examine swirling plastic vortex

A group of conservationists and scientists is due to set sail for an obscure corner of the Pacific Ocean in the coming months to explore a vast swirl of waste known as the "Plastic Vortex."

The expedition will be led by a 150-foot-tall ship, the "Kaisei" - which means Ocean Planet in Japanese

The giant patch of floating waste -- which some scientists estimate is twice the size of Texas -- has been gradually building over the last 60 years as Asia and the United States tossed their unwanted goods into the ocean.

After only coming to scientific attention in recent years, little remains known about the vortex, also known as the "Eastern Garbage Patch," so the expedition hopes to find out if the plastic can be fished out of the sea -- and what can be done with it.

Jim Dufour, a senior engineer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, who is advising the trip, said establishing the extent of the problem was vital for the future health of the oceans. "Importance is an understatement, it's imperative. It will take many years to understand and fix the problem.”

Everything from flip-flops to plastic bags have been slowly broken down by the sun's rays into small particles, and ocean tides have meant much of it has settled in a spiralling pattern just below the ocean surface between Hawaii and the mainland United States.

The United Nations Environment Programme says around 13,000 pieces of plastic litter are found in every square kilometre of sea, but the problem is worst in five ocean gyres, or spiralling ocean currents, the worst of which is in the North Pacific. The plastic has become so small most of it cannot be seen by satellite pictures, but the volume means the poisonous soup is being unknowingly vacuumed up by marine life and birds, and much of it is heavy with toxic chemicals, organisers of the trip say.

The swirl's location in international waters meant it was difficult to get any government support to clean it up. "There is no jurisdiction, no government who is entirely responsible, so there has been no push to clean it up. The world doesn't know it is out there,” said Doug Woodring, an entrepreneur and conservationist who will lead the expedition.