When we decided to convert a stuffed toy sea turtle into a model for simulating a necropsy (or animal dissection), we never imagined how impactful the experience would be for kids. With funding from a NOAA Marine Debris Program Prevention Grant, the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) MarineQuest created Turtle Trash Collectors (2TC) to help children understand the marine debris issue and to provide ways for them to address the problem.

Bottles, bags, plastic foam trays: single-use plastic has become an everyday part of peoples’ lives, and a common sight on beaches around Alaska. Cleaning debris off of beaches can only get to part of the mess, and only serve as part of the solution, especially in Alaska, where there are over 44,000 miles of often dangerous and difficult to access coastline. To address the issue further we have to slow the stream of plastic into a state where plastic is easy to come by, but difficult to deal with.

Inspiration for a project can come from multiple places, which is the case for the Hawaii State Parks water bottle filling station project, that will become a reality thanks to a NOAA Marine Debris Program Prevention Grant. The first seed for this project was planted when I volunteered with Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund to help with a cleanup at Kamilo Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

Are you ready for the storm? Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. Severe weather producing strong winds, rain, and storm surge can threaten your safety and property, and it can also create large amounts of marine debris. Yard furniture, cars, boats, parts of homes, and fencing or docks can become dislodged and end up in waterways and the ocean during a storm.

To visitors of the Pacific Northwest, beaches along the Pacific Ocean and the Puget Sound seem stunningly beautiful and often pristine. A closer look reveals that these beaches, like beaches the world over, are impacted by marine debris that harms the ecosystem, creates navigational hazards, and negatively affects the economy.

Despite the fact that cigarette smoking is on a steep decline, cigarette butts remain the top littered item in San Francisco, and the most common item found on beaches around the world. They’re easy to miss, but once you see them, you’ll never “unsee” them. Surfrider San Francisco’s Hold on to Your Butt program has one ambitious goal: to end cigarette litter so we never have to see those butts again. Through volunteer power, the program works to bring awareness to the environmental impact of the cigarette flick.

California is not only home to beaches, super blooms, and stars, but is also home to 12% of the population of the United States, and the fifth largest economy in the world. With such concentrated human and economic activity, marine debris can be a serious problem. However, California is leading the way on waste reduction and marine debris prevention efforts.

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 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!

Happy World Ocean Day! Today is a day to stop and think about our ocean, how it helps us (so many ways!), and what we can do to make sure it stays healthy. This year’s theme is plastic pollution. Unfortunately, our ocean faces many threats, one of which is marine debris. Marine debris is a major issue that impacts our ocean and consequently, impacts us.

Learn more about plastic pollution– the most prevalent form of marine debris– and how we can work together to keep our ocean plastic-free.