Cooking a plastic-free meal may seem easy at first, but think about what you ate today. Did you have breakfast? A simple meal like cereal and milk means plastic waste from the cereal bag and the plastic milk jug. A handful of fresh berries can make your breakfast healthier, but those come in plastic clamshell packaging too. Even if you skipped breakfast and just had a cup of coffee, those coffee grounds are probably kept fresh in a plastic bag, not to mention your plastic container of creamer. So much of our food is covered in plastic, having a meal with only ingredients not found in plastic packaging can be a real challenge.
The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce our FY19 “Marine Debris Removal” federal funding opportunity.
Projects awarded through the removal grant competition will create long-term, quantifiable ecological habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources, with priority consideration for efforts targeting derelict fishing gear and other medium- and large-scale debris. Projects should also foster public awareness of the effects of marine debris to further the conservation of living marine resource habitats, and contribute to the understanding of marine debris composition, distribution and impacts.
Following a highly competitive merit review process, the NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to announce the 23 recipients of our 2018 prevention and removal grant awards totaling approximately $2.5 million in federal funds. With each project, federal funding is matched by non-federal contributions, bringing the total investment of these marine debris projects to $5.5 million. These awards will support efforts to address the pervasive national and global problem of marine debris that can impact wildlife, navigation safety, human health, and the economy.
The days are getting shorter and cooler, and soon teachers and students alike must say goodbye to the lazy, hazy days of summer. The new school year can be a new beginning, so why not take this time to build some better habits in the classroom? If you want to reduce the amount of waste your class produces, a great way to start is to understand what you already throw away and recycle. Figure out how much waste your class creates through a trash audit!
Research is an important part of our fight against marine debris. It allows us to advance our understanding of how debris impacts the environment, and improves our ability to target and address the problem in the future. Recent research has shown that marine debris, such as microplastics (plastics less than 5mm in size), can be ingested by fish and species that filter their food out of the water. In order to improve our understanding of marine debris, the NOAA Marine Debris Program supports original and hypothesis-driven research projects which focus on the potential risk to wildlife from debris exposure and ingestion.
