The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

This term can be used to describe a large circulating ocean current:

• El Nino

• Gyre

• Estuary

• Inversion

Where is much of the debris in the garbage patch generated?

• Harbors

• Rivers

• Marinas

• All of them.

How many tons of plas:c debris are estimated to enter the ocean each year from
rivers?

• 1,000 to 2,000 tons

• 10,000 to 20,000 tons

• 100,000 to 200,000 tons

• 1 to 2 million tons

How long does it take currents to carry debris from the west coast of North America to the gyre?

• about 1 year

• about 6 years

• about 3 years

• about 10 years

Approximately what percentage of objects found in the garbage patch are

microplastics less than 0.5 cm in size?

• 25%

• 75%

• 50%

• over 90%

Current research indicates that the garbage patch is:

• shrinking rapidly

• growing rapidly

• shrinking slowly

• growing slowly

A common estimate of the size of the garbage patch is:

• (260,000 square km)

• (800,000 square km)

• (1.6 million square km)

• (2.6 million square

  km)

In 2014, it became the first U.S. state to ban single-use plastics at large retail stores.

• Alaska

• Texas

• California

• Washington

Which countries have passed laws to ban or tax single-use plastic bags?

• Australia

• The United Kingdom

• China

• All of them

What risks does the garbage patch pose

for animals and humans?

• Fish and whales can confuse plastic as a

  food source

• Humans may consume fish that have

  consumed toxin-containing plastics

• Some animals can become trapped in

  plastic nets and rings

• All of them