Oceanographers are not surprised that garbage collects in the North pacific. A pattern, and anything that gets in to the middle of it is trapped. This natural process has continued foe millions of years. organic garbage, such as food, tree branches, and paper, gets broken down by bacteria and chemical. It returns to its original part and re-enters the environment. The difference is that now most of the garbage is plastic, and plastic inorganic. Bacteria and chemical in the seawater cannot break it down. Plastic will therefore stay in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years.