The Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest landfill in the world, is not alone in the oceans. The vertices of trash also accumulate in the Indian and the North Atlantic Oceans, according 5 Gyres Institute's investigations.

The plastic contaminants are ingested by marine animals, which in turn enter parts of the human food-chain. According to calculations made by the United Nations and the 5 Gyres Institute, they estimate that this pollution kill more than one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles that mistaken plastic for food.

Co-founder of the 5 Gyres Institute, Markus Eriksen, said that 80% of ocean trash come from the inadequate or the absence of waste treatment on land, while the remaining 20% are sourced from fishing boats or other vessels. World production of plastic is about 225 million tonnes annually, of which only 5% are recycled.

(Source: El confeti plástico invade los océanos [El País])