Marine Debris

With so much trash and litter entering our ocean every year, the problem of preventing and reducing marine debris is an urgent challenge that we must meet to preserve the health of our ocean. Business, government and individuals can make a difference.

• Bring your own reusable cup for your morning coffee or latte, because disposable cups can end up as marine debris. You can also leave a mug and glass at work for you to use for your personal beverages.
• Avoid products with excess packaging. Buy fresh and local. Buy from bulk bins and avoid packages with individually wrapped items. Reducing excess packaging and plastics reduces marine debris!
• Invest in a reusable water bottle instead of using plastic one-use bottles.
• Recycle plastic bags at your grocery store.
• Keep our beaches clean! Get involved in the annual California Coastal Clean Up Day in September.
• Take the pledge. Return the favor by taking our pledge to protect the ocean.
• Click here for more ways you can take action against marine debris.

Californians typically remove more than 1.6 million pounds of debris during the annual California Coastal Clean-Up Day each September. But, a natural question to ask is, “Where is all this trash coming from?” The next time you walk down the street, look around. When it rains, trash on sidewalks and streets accumulates in the gutter and is swept into storm drains. Most storm drain systems do not have filters, and therefore discharge directly into the nearest creek or river, eventually flowing to the ocean. There are no confirmed estimates about how much marine debris is in the ocean, but a research voyage to the North Pacific Gyre (an area northwest of Hawaii where ocean currents converge) reported concentrations of plastics in an area roughly one to two times the size of Texas . This area, now referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, has increased 5-fold in the last 10 years . Research here found that the ratio of plastic to plankton (an important food that many marine animals feed upon) was 6:1 in the surface waters. In some areas the ratio was as high as 48:1.

Marine debris kills marine animals, can leach toxic pollutants, carries endangered species, endangers human health and hurts business and tourism by polluting our beaches and coastlines.

Marine debris can injure and kill wildlife through ingestion and entanglement as birds, fish and mammals often mistake plastic and other debris for food. Many endangered albatross birds and chicks have been found dead with stomachs full of plastic, including bottle caps and cigarette lighters; some birds even feed plastic pieces to their young. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods. With debris filling their stomachs, animals have a false feeling of being full, and may die of starvation.

Common items, such as fishing line or nets, strapping bands and six-pack rings, also can hamper the mobility of marine animals. Once entangled, animals have trouble eating, breathing or swimming, all of which can have fatal results. Plastic debris poses an especially large problem, because it takes hundreds of years to break down. Plastic easily floats for hundreds of miles on ocean currents and may never fully biodegrade. Meanwhile, the debris may continue to trap and kill animals year after year.

Plastic debris also acts as a sponge for toxic, hormone-disrupting chemicals like Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) that reside in seawater. NOAA is currently investigating the issue of plastic debris and these pollutants.  Contaminant levels in some plastics are one million times greater than contaminants found in seawater. The chemical components of plastics themselves may also be a potential source of other toxins that find their way into the food chain.

In November 2008, the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) adopted an ocean litter implementation strategy that identifies broad approaches that the state could take to eliminate marine debris. For more information about the strategy, please visit the OPC Web site.

For downloadable resources about marine debris, visit the NOAA Marine Debris Web site.