The holidays have arrived and that means party decorations and celebrations! Last week, the Marine Debris Program highlighted how to “green” your travel plans, how to create zero waste gifts and gift wrapping, and how to host and decorate for holiday parties that celebrate the Earth too. As we wrap up 2019, we have one more piece of celebration advice: try a glitter-free New Year.

It is ironic and sad that balloons, meant to convey a message of compassion, love, and best wishes, become anything but when they are lost and become marine debris. Balloons may be ingested by marine animals, their ribbons can entangle marine life, and when they are deposited on the beach, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of miles from where they were first lost, they add to the marine debris burden on the beach ecology.

On a recent cool foggy morning near Surf City, North Carolina, Joe Huie stepped out of his skiff, trudged through the marsh, and up to a small hammock. Hoping he wouldn’t see what he knew would be there, he gazed out over the marsh dotted with small spider webs glistening with the morning fog and dew. Soon, Joe could pick out the telltale signs of the pieces of docks, polystyrene, and other hurricane debris that littered the beautiful marsh.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Southeast region, which spans Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, includes gorgeous sandy beaches, expansive meandering marshlands, diverse wildlife, significant history, and lots of southern charm. While sweet tea, hospitality, downhome sayings, and “y’all” are signatures of the south, so too are issues with marine debris.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to share the Great Lakes Land-based Marine Debris Action Plan Accomplishments Report 2014-2019. The Report documents the many actions taken over the five years of the Action Plan to reduce the impacts of marine debris in the Great Lakes.

For many of us, holiday travel is inevitable. We have a few tips for reducing your waste as you visit your family and friends this year.

This year, your holiday doesn’t have to end with bags and bags filled with crumpled wrapping paper. If a gift swap is part of your holiday traditions, check out our tips below for choosing and wrapping presents that won’t pollute!

The Marine Debris Program has gathered up our favorite quick tips for making this holiday season a little greener. In a series of three blogs, our team will share their holiday hacks to help celebrate the season while also protecting the planet!

The 2018 hurricane and typhoon seasons inflicted severe damage to communities and coastal resources across North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.