Marine debris is one of the most widespread pollution problems facing the world's oceans and waterways. Learn more about the issue and arm yourself with the most accurate information!
Definition of Marine Debris:
Marine debris is any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes.
Download an educational 1-pager about marine debris ( 1.1MB).
Note that these pages are not within the Marine Debris 101 site, so page format and navigation links will be different.
Find accurate and science-based information here on what is actually known about the so called "garbage patches." Once and for all, find out if the eastern Pacific garbage patch is indeed twice the size of Texas. Also, get more information on what exactly these "patches" are.
Check out the most up-to-date information on what research has shown us about plastic marine debris. Find out if plastic marine debris really does degrade in salt water and what scientists have to say about plastic marine debris and pollutants -- are they really "poisonous plastic pills" that we're eating in our fish? Find out!
The tragedy of the March 2011 tsunami in Japan had far-reaching effects that included the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii. This page contains information and answers to some frequently asked questions about the marine debris generated from the tsunami in Japan.
There are so many facts and figures about marine debris out there and not all of them are entirely true. Here are some of the most common questions that we receive and the researched answers. You'll get answers to questions such as, "Is it true that 80% of marine debris comes from land and 20% comes from the ocean?" and "Are there really 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer of the world's oceans?"