The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is actually a unique ocean ecosystem teeming with sea creatures that cling to the plastic trash

• The Great Pacific Ocean Patch refers to a big swirling soup of plastic in the ocean.
• A new study found the patch was full of sea life that was living on the plastic debris.
• The findings challenged the assumption that coastal species couldn't survive in the open ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is more than just a swirling vortex of plastic floating in the open ocean over 1,000 miles from land — it's also become an ecosystem hosting a variety of sea creatures that cling to the debris.