The great Pacific garbage patch may be 16 times as massive as we thought
New estimates put greater weight on larger plastics
![fishing net washed ashore](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/032118_HT_pacific-garbage_main.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
THINGAMABOBS Fishing nets and ropes make up 47 percent of the plastic mass in the Pacific Ocean’s notorious garbage patch, a new study suggests.
NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)