EPA’s Marine Debris Program: Taking Action Against Trash

By Grumbles, Benjamin H

Marine debris is a pervasive, preventable problem that threatens our oceans and coasts. Man-made, persistent objects are discarded, disposed or abandoned and cause ecological and economic injuries, as well as aesthetic insults. From beach closures in the late 1980s due to medical wastes washing up on the coast of New Jersey to the deaths of seals in the Hawaiian Islands due to ingestion of litter and entanglement in fishing nets, there is no question that marine debris has a vast impact. The good news is federal, state and local agencies are partnering with industry, environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the public to reduce this extensive problem. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been part of the solution for decades through its Marine Debris Program. Permit programs for storm water, coordination across government agencies, collaboration with industry and NGOs, development of education and outreach materials and support for President George W. Bush’s new Marine Debris Initiative are examples that demonstrate EPA’s commitment.

Collaborating on Prevention

As a member of the 1987 Interagency Task Force on Persistent Marine Debris, EPA and its federal partners were charged with "assessing the problem and need for research, identifying potential reduction measures and considering alternative actions to address the problem of plastic marine pollution."

EPA has responded with prevention and control programs under several statutory authorities, including those dealing with improper disposal of waste at sea and on shore; trash entering waterways through storm water drains and point sources, such as combined sewer overflows; trash disposal and recycling; and monitoring marine debris trends in the environment. In addition, EPA works with a number of international and national programs to assess, monitor and prevent marine debris by developing and supporting outreach and educational materials, grant projects, guidance documents, beach cleanups, recycling efforts and many other marine debris-related activities. One of EPA’s most successful programs has been its U.S. Harbors Study from 1988 to 1990, where the agency assessed the types of marine debris found in effluent from storm sewers, collected in sewage treatment facilities and floating in harbors across the country, prompting a partnership with industry to better control the release of plastic pellets during manufacturing and transportation operations.

Two major ongoing marine debris programs EPA supports are the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and the National Marine Debris Monitoring Program (NMDMP). On every third Saturday in September for the last 22 years, Ocean Conservancy has hosted the ICC. The ICC includes more than 100 countries and territories bordering every major body of water on Earth and is the world’s largest volunteer effort to clean up the marine environment and collect marine environmental data from both land and underwater sites. In 2006, more than 350,000 people around the world removed about seven million pounds of debris from more than 34,000 miles of coasts, shorelines and underwater sites.

In the fall of 2007, EPA-in partnership with Ocean Conservancy- completed the NMDMP to obtain statistically-based marine debris composition and trend data that will serve as the basis for development of future marine debris prevention efforts. The program, managed by Ocean Conservancy under a grant from EPA, used local volunteers from across the country to track the number of specific "indicator" items collected on each beach and identify the likely source (i.e., land-based or ocean-based) of the debris. By focusing on specific indicator items, the program design team (consisting of an interagency workgroup, Ocean Conservancy and members of academia) believes resulting data will not only help determine what specific items are most worthy of control efforts, but also which sources need to be targeted in prevention efforts.

Over the course of 60 months, with 600 volunteers around the country, Ocean Conservancy tabulated marine debris items at 47 beaches along the U.S. coastline. The final NMDMP report found no significant change in the overall total amount of debris at its monitoring sites, but noted a disturbing trend: increasing numbers of plastic beverage containers, such as water bottles. In addition, items attributed to land-based sources made up the majority of debris surveyed nationally at 49 percent, in comparison to 18 percent from vessels and 33 percent from sources that could not be distinguished as coming from the ocean or land. The study also found plastic straws, plastic bottles, plastic bags and balloons were the most abundant forms of debris littering our coasts.

Rising Awareness

Using the NMDMP and final report as a guide, EPA is collaborating with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Global Marine Litter Campaign as UNEP works to develop marine debris monitoring programs in their Regional Seas Programme. As a cochair of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC), established in 2006, EPA will also consider the results from this study as the IMDCC develops recommendations for comprehensive and multidisciplinary approaches to reduce the sources and impacts of marine debris.

The results from the NMDMP report will also enable EPA to take an active role in the new Marine Debris Initiative, set out by the president in November. The initiative calls upon the public and private sectors to work together to increase public awareness and education, strengthen existing programs and develop new initiatives to prevent, reduce and remove marine debris.

There are rising tides of awareness and action to prevent and control marine debris. As citizens and governments take steps to stop the trashing of our ocean and coastal treasures, industry will respond as well. Through technology, innovation and collaboration, we can expect to see more recycling and less refuse entering our waterways. Smarter product packaging and new controls on urban storm water runoff, coupled with broader education efforts and stewardship initiatives, will get us closer to the dream of debris-free seas.

"Man-made, persistent objects are discarded, disposed or abandoned and cause ecological and economic injuries, as well as aesthetic insults."