What is Marine Debris? | Marine Litter Solutions

Marine litter is human-created waste that has been discharged into the coastal or marine environment. Specifically: “Marine debris” is defined to include ... Share Tweet WhatIsMarineLitter? MarineDebrisandPollutionDon’tBelonginOurOceans Marinelitterishuman-createdwastethathasbeendischargedintothecoastalormarineenvironment.Specifically:“Marinedebris”isdefinedtoincludeanyanthropogenic,manufactured,orprocessedsolidmaterial(regardlessofsize)discarded,disposedof,orabandonedintheenvironment,includingallmaterialsdiscardedintothesea,ontheshore,orbroughtindirectlytotheseabyrivers,sewage,stormwater,waves,orwinds.” Westandwithscientistsandpolicymakerswhohavefoundthateffectivemarinedebrissolutionsrequireactionstoimprovelitterprevention,recycling,andotherwastemanagementinfrastructure,alongwithstrongregionalandinternationalpartnerships. TheImpactofMarineDebris Marinelitterisnotonlyugly–itcanharmoceanecosystems,wildlife,andhumans.Itcaninjurecoralreefsandbottom-dwellingspeciesandentangleordrownoceanwildlife.Somemarineanimalsingestsmallerplasticparticlesandchokeorstarve.Medicalwaste(suchassyringes),sharpobjects,andlargepiecesoflittercanposeadirectthreattohumans.Theeconomicimpactofmarinelitteristhoughttobesignificant. TypesofMarineDebrisandLitter Therearemanytypesofmarinelitter.Roughly70percentofmarinelitter,suchasglass,metal,andallsortsofmarineequipmentandotherrefuse,sinkstotheoceanfloor,accordingtoUNEP. Whilemarinelitterconsistsofallsortsofmaterials,manyplasticsfloatorremainsuspendedinwater,makingthemmorevisible.Andmanyalsoareresistanttodegradationandpersistinthemarineenvironment. TheTopTenMarineDebrisItems DebrisItems NumberofItems PercentofTotal Cigarettes/cigarettefilters 25,407,457 24.6% Bags(paper&plasticdebris) 9,711,238 9.4% Caps/lids 9,398,977 9.1% Foodwrappers/containers 9,191,575 8.9% Cups/plates/forks/knives/spoons 7,426,964 7.2% Beveragebottles(plastic)<2litres 5,684,718 5.5% BeverageBottles(glass) 4,991,860 4.8% Beveragecans 4,796,554 4.6% Straws,stirrers 4,508,085 4.4% Rope 2,215,329 2.1% Totaldebrisitems 103,247,609 80.7% AdaptedfromUNEP(2009a)andcompiledfromtheInternationalCoastalCleanUps’1989-2007reportsoftheCenterforMarineConservation/OceanConservancy. TheGoal:LessPlasticintheOcean Weknowthatplasticsareessentialtomodernlife.Plasticscanenhancequalityoflifeinwaysthatothermaterialscannot.Plasticscanhelpprolongthefreshnessoffood.Theycanhelpshieldandtransportsterilizedmedicalsupplies.Theycanmeetresourceneedsandreducewaste,energyuse,andemissions.Andmuchmore. Wecanresponsiblyenjoythebenefitsofplasticswhilealsoproperlydisposingorrecyclingusedplastics.(Thesamegoesforalltypesofmaterialsthatmakeupmarinelitter.) Arecentstudyfoundthattheamountofplasticwasteenteringtheoceanfromlandeachyearexceeds4.8milliontons(Mt),andmaybeashighas12.7Mt Thequantitiesofplasticenteringtheoceanaregrowingrapidlywiththepotentialforcumulativeinputsofplasticwasteintotheoceanashighas250Mtby2025. Dischargesofplasticarespreadaroundtheglobefromthe192countrieswithcoastalborders,but20countriesaccountfor83%ofthemismanagedplasticwasteavailabletoentertheocean. Ofcourse,bettermarinelitterpreventionandoceanconservancybeginswithabetterunderstandingoftherootcausesofoceanpollution. WhatCausesMarineLitter? Sortingthroughcollecteddebris. ExploreCausesofMarineDebris