The Ultimate Great Pacific Garbage Patch Quiz

A gyre is a series of currents that move in a circular pattern. They aren't popular places for large fish, but they do attract a lot of trash.

The Western and Eastern Pacific Garbage Patches are connected by the Subtropical Convergence Zone, a 6,000-mile (9,656 kilometer) long current. The result is an oceanic landfill that spans an area twice the size of the continental United States.

It's hard to know for sure, but researchers estimate that you can find about 3.5 tons (3.18 metric tons) of trash in this oceanic landfill.

Only 20 percent of the Garbage Patch's trash comes from people working on the sea. The rest starts out on land and makes its way there, carried along by the wind or by sewer systems.

Approximately 12,000 reclaimed plastic soda bottles will be used to float the Plastiki on its attention-getting journey from San Francisco to Sydney.

A nurdle is a small piece of plastic formed by photodegradation. Plastic doesn't chemically change as it decays -- it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time. Also, a nurdle can refer to the basic form of plastic used to make other products.

Nurdles act like sponges in the ocean and absorb toxins. The toxins are concentrated in the nurdle and can be detrimental to marine life.

For every 6 pounds (2.72 kilograms) of plastic, there is 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) of plankton.

Approximately 100,000 marine animals die each year from a trash-related incident.

Recycling and handling trash properly on land is the best and easiest way to keep litter from entering the ocean. It sounds ironic, but removing the trash that's already there could harm some marine ecosystems.