In the oceans, there are around 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste. Whether it is water bottles or plastic bags, waste of all sizes damages the environment more than we humans think. 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of plastic waste located in the Northern Pacific Ocean. With several tons of plastic items accumulating every year, there had to be a way to begin the cleanup little by little. Then came Jenny, a U-shaped net created by The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit that strives to clean up the pollution in waters around the world. The system is guided by two boats to collect the plastic into the net where it is then emptied on the mainland. 

Although Jenny will never be able to completely purify the water to its natural state, the system is a start to something much bigger for the environment. Over the past several years, marine ecosystems have begun to depopulate due to the waste in the waters. For example, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia has entered a state of endangerment due to the water pollution created by humans. Although one of the seven wonders of the world, it is slowly decaying due to its scarceness of color. According to Business Insider, unless action is taken soon, “we might be facing a world without reefs as early as 2050.” Every year, the pollution increases causing the water quality to greatly decrease, and the trend continues. 

Every day the toxins from the agricultural runoff are entering the oceans, causing great damage not only to the marine environments but to the local communities as well. If humans are exposed to the chemicals that sit in their unpurified water, it can result in detrimental health problems. These toxins also greatly harm the crops and food we eat every day, causing a major downfall in the economy and an uprising in health care expenditures. Water is a vital part of daily living but can cause much more damage than imagined without being treated correctly.

Although she is doing a great job, Jenny can not do it all by herself. However, oceans are the vessels of the primary water sources in everyday life, so even the smallest actions can make a difference. It is the job of the citizens to keep the community safe and healthy no matter its size. By doing something as small as recycling a plastic water bottle whenever possible, we can eliminate the waste within the waters, potentially cleaning up the contaminated waters that run off into the water. One day, hopefully, the marine life will finally reconstruct their now destroyed environments, but it all starts with the in-land humans.