How can I travel to the Great Pacific garbage patch?

Question

The Great Pacific garbage patch is a region in the central North Pacific Ocean characterized by a great concentration of plastics and other traces of human trash. Here's an approximate map:

Is it possible for a tourist to somehow visit this area? Judging from the map, Hawaii seems to be the closest human settlement. Are there any tours departing from Honolulu that explore this ecological disaster?

Answer 1

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch doesn't exist, not in the sense you are thinking.

The name "garbage patch" may conjure up an image of a gigantic bouillabaisse of floating trash: empty soda bottles, soggy cast-off clothing, old pizza boxes.

It's nothing of the kind. The "garbage" consists of tiny plastic particles, too small or almost too small to see, and the average concentration of debris is 5.1 mg per square meter of ocean, considerably cleaner than an Olympic swimming pool with a single gum wrapper in it.

The Patch may have long-term environment effects, I don't know, but I know you cannot see it.

Answer 2

You can be a part of a clean up project for $10,000

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/stories/take-a-cruise-to-the-north-pacific-garbage-patch

Answer 3

1. it moves around, so there's no fixed place to visit
2. there's nothing to see. Not only are the bits and pieces small and mostly invisible against sea water, they're also mostly below the surface
3. disaster tourism is generally discouraged in any civilised nation
4. there's simply not enough (luckily) interest to organise tour boats (well, tour cruise liners, a typical tour boat wouldn't survive that far out to sea)

No doubt you can charter a large ocean going ship and go looking, if you have the funds. But why would you want to?