The world's rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan

The vast expanse of debris – in effect the world's largest rubbish dump – is held in place by swirling underwater currents. It is almost like a plastic soup. It is endless for an area that is maybe twice the size as continental United States. About one-fifth of the junk – which includes everything from footballs and kayaks to Lego blocks and carrier bags – is thrown off ships or oil platforms. The rest comes from land. It is not detectable in satellite photographs. You only see it from the bows of ships. The slowly rotating mass of rubbish-laden water poses a risk to human health.
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Not a bad one for the 500th post.