LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 30 A federal agency is considering trying to clean up a huge patch of plastic trash drifting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,000 miles from Hawaii.
Holly Bamford, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the San Francisco Chronicle the first step would be a survey to determine the size of the floating mess. She said satellite photographs are no use because the debris is translucent plastic.
The best solution would be to use unmanned aircraft launched from boats that could fly close to the water. That means the survey is at least 18 months away.
Charles Moore of the Algalita Marina Research Foundation in Long Beach, Calif., believes the patch of plastic is too large and too far from land to be removed.
"Any attempt to remove that much plastic from the oceans -- it boggles the mind," Moore said.
The plastic has accumulated in one area, driven by currents and winds from lands hundreds of miles away. Moore said a bottle that makes its way into the Pacific off San Francisco will end up weeks later in the floating patch of trash.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
