Search for Air France 447 Hindered by Garbage

Earlier in the week, rescue workers reported that they had found debris--two buoys and a cargo pallet--that had come from the downed Air France Flight 447 plane, but it turned out to just be floating garbage. Officials have had to turn to costly submarines to aid in locating signs of the plane amid the floating piles of waste.

Ocean-bound refuse tends to congregate in gyres. There are about five major “trash islands” in the world. Air France Flight 447 did not even go down in one of these major gyres; It fell into an area of minor trash congestion. The major gyres are mind-boggling and are 90% plastic waste. One of them, between North America and Asia, is twice the size of Texas.

It has a devastating impact on ocean life. Notably, sea turtles mistake the plastic bags for jellyfish and try to eat them. Birds also attempt to eat the floating chunklets of plastic. The floating-garbage problem doesn't stop at marine life. The plastic acts as a sponge for harmful chemicals. The chemicals work their way through the food chain and end up in our food.

This art piece was inspired to bring awareness to the debris gyres in our ocean. The Environmental Cleanup Coalition is focused on removing this debris accumulation from the ocean. www.gyrecleanup.org.