The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre has become clogged with trash. Due to its lack of large fish and gentle breezes, fishermen and sailors rarely travel through the gyre. But the area is filled with something besides plankton: trash, millions of pounds of it, most of it plastic. There are two patches, the Western and Eastern Pacific Garbage Patches. The western patch is between Hawaii and Japan, while the eastern one is between Hawaii and California. The patches are connected by a thin 6,000-mile long current called the Subtropical Convergence Zone.

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