Garbage Island, the world’s biggest garbage pile floating the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is the subject of a new documentary series on VBS.tv. For those who until now thought the 100 million ton trash vortex was an urban myth, the documentary series is a sobering portrayal of one of the worst ecological disasters of our time. You can view Part 1 below:

From VBS.tv:

For years we’ve been reading about a patch of garbage the size of Texas floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, ingeniously dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Basically, any trash that gets dumped in the water rides the currents to this one spot and joins an ever-increasing flotilla of crap. For all the breathless accounts of the mess and its impact on the area’s sea life, however, no one seemed to have a picture of the buildup.

In order to sate our own curiosity, VBS joined the crew of a research vessel studying the trash and sailed out into one of the most remote spots of open water in the world, the North Pacific Gyre, in search of this mythical garbage island.

Charles Moore, an American oceanographer who discovered Garbage Island, states that it is currently twice the size of Texas, and is growing at an alarming rate:

It moves around like a big animal without a leash. When that animal comes close to land, as it does at the Hawaiian archipelago, the results are dramatic. The garbage patch barfs, and you get a beach covered with this confetti of plastic, he added.

takepart and view the entire series on VBS.tv. You can also check out Thomas Morton’s Vice Magazine article on his Garbage Island adventures here.

Related:

• Floating toxic plastic garbage island twice the size of Texas
• The Island of Garbage
• Great Pacific Garbage Patch