from boating and shoreline recreational activities such as picnicking on beaches. on picnicking as such activities recreational shoreline and boating from washes down storm drains into rivers, and then into the sea. Marine debris also comes comes also debris Marine sea. the into then and rivers, into drains storm down washes A majority of the trash and debris on coasts comes from littering or dumping, where it it where dumping, or littering from comes coasts on debris and trash the of majority A abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes. Great the or environment marine the into abandoned processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or or of disposed unintentionally, or intentionally indirectly, or directly and processed Marine debris is defined as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or or manufactured is that ? material solid persistent any as defined is debris Marine PLASTIC vessels. abandoned and gear fishing derelict to bags plastic and MARINE DEBRIS GARBAGE bottles soda from ranging debris, marine of variety wide a with polluted is ocean Our Plastic is the most common type of marine PATCHES DEBRIS debris in the ocean. Globally, we are consuming more and more single-use Currents and winds move marine debris plastic items, but many countries lack throughout the ocean, sometimes far the waste infrastructure to process it. In from its origin. “Garbage patches” are MARINE places where there is good infrastructure, areas in the ocean where marine debris intentional littering or improper disposal accumulates because of converging may add to the problem. currents. These areas are not solid islands of trash that you can see easily IS Plastic does not biodegrade in the ocean. with the naked eye. They are made WHAT It can fragment into tiny pieces called up mostly of tiny microplastics swirling microplastics, less than 5 mm in length, throughout the ocean’s water column. from weathering and sun exposure. Garbage patches exist in ocean gyres Plastics in the ocean can last for hundreds all over the world. of years. NOAA WHAT IS MARINE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM DEBRIS? The NOAA Marine Debris Program’s mission is to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris. Since 2006, the program has led U.S. federal efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris through partnerships with state and local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry. DEBRIS IMPACTS FACTS OF MARINE DEBRIS WORLDWIDE, MORE THAN INGESTION Animals mistakenly eat plastic and other debris. 200 ENTANGLEMENT & GHOSTFISHING SPECIES Marine life gets caught and killed in ghost nets, trapped ARE IMPACTED BY in derelict gear, and entangled in plastic bands and other ENTANGLEMENT marine debris. HAZARD TO NAVIGATION AT LEAST Marine debris can be difficult to see in the ocean if it’s floating 1/3 OF ALL below the water’s surface. Encounters with large items at sea can result in costly vessel damage, either to its structure or SEABIRD through a tangled propeller or obstruct mechanical gears. SPECIES EAT DEBRIS HABITAT DAMAGE Heavy marine debris crushes sensitive habitat, such as coral reefs and sea grass. PACKING BANDS ARE RESPONSIBLE NON-NATIVE SPECIES FOR MORE THAN HALF OF THE Marine debris transports alien and invasive species from one STELLER region to another. SEA LION ENTANGLEMENTS $$$ ECONOMIC COST IN ALASKA Communities lose a lot of money cleaning up trash, as well as the economic benefit of beach tourism and recreation. ALL SEA TURTLE SPECIES HOW EAT DEBRIS YOU Facebook: www.facebook.com/ CAN HELP NOAAMarineDebris GET INVOLVED and participate in local REDUCE the amount of waste you produce. Instagram & Twitter cleanups in your area. ! @NOAADebris REUSE items when you can. Choose reusable REMEMBER that our land and sea are items over disposable ones. Website connected. http://marinedebris.noaa.gov RECYCLE as much as possible! Bottles, cans, DISPOSE OF WASTE PROPERLY cell phones, ink cartridges, and many other no matter where you are. items can be recycled. .