Radioactive waste from the nuclear power process, medical use of radioisotopes, and industrial uses often ends up in the oceans.

Example: Post the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station explosion, radioactive waste drifted across the northern Pacific Ocean towards Canada and the USA.

GPGP is a large mass of marine pollutants concentrated by ocean currents. It's a massive, slow-moving mass surrounded by the North Pacific gyre.

Around 80% of the waste in GPGP comes from land-based sources, with 20% coming from shipping.

GPGP's size is estimated to vary from 700,000 km² to more than 15 million km² and contain about 100 million tonnes of rubbish.

Example: Much of the plastic in GPGP, due to photodegradation, has become too small to see, severely impacting wildlife, like Laysan albatrosses at Midway Atoll.