 Plastic in the ocean has been shown to follow ocean currents which eventually form into what is known as Great Garbage Patches.Knowledge of the routes that plastic follows in ocean currents comes from accidental container drops from ship carriers.For example, in May 1990 The Hansa Carrier, sailing from Korea to the United States, broke apart due to a storm, ultimately resulting in thousands of dumped shoes; these eventually started showing up on the U.S western coast, and Hawaii.