NICOLO’ CARMINEO
University of Bari, Ionic Department in Legal and Economic System of Mediterranean Society, Environment, Culture, via Duomo 259, 74123 Taranto, Italy

Source: “Come è profondo il mare” published by Chiarelettere 2014

I met Charles Moore, the man that first came upon the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, in a London pub. This is the account of the first man who entered the “continent of plastic”.

Captain Moore jumps up from the table we were sitting at, fetches a white paper napkin from the bar counter and rapidly draws a sketch of the northern Pacific ocean (I still keep it as a relic and I have it with me as I write) as if he was jotting down some sort of treasure map: California’s coastline, Hawaii further south and the route his boat, Alguita, had taken. He circles a large area in the centre of the map and marks it with a big letter H to indicate the high pressure zone: “This is the gathering point, where the patch is” he whispers, as if he was revealing some sort of secret to me. […]

The day that was dawning was gray, with low black clouds reflected by a still, flat ocean surface that resembled melted lead. Suddenly, something starts to repeatedly bump against the Alguita’s hull. Captain Moore wakes up startled and, h ...