![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Basic Information
On this page: Marine Debris Sources | Marine Debris Impacts | Prevention, Control, and Reduction | Monitoring and Research | What You Can Do
Marine Debris Sources
Most marine debris comes from a variety of human activities on land or at sea. Sources of marine debris are not limited to the coasts. Moreover, marine debris can result from human activities anywhere in the watershed, from an overturned trash can miles away from the ocean to litter left on a beach. Objects such as detergent bottles, plastic bags, cigarette butts, hazardous medical wastes, and discarded fishing line are all materials that can become marine debris. See the Marine Debris Sources section of this site for more details.
Marine Debris Impacts
Marine debris is a major pollution problem affecting every waterway, with impacts experienced locally, nationally, and internationally. The impacts can encompass: human health and safety, economic and environmental. An example of a direct impact of marine debris is wildlife suffocation or death caused by ingestion or entanglement within marine debris. For more information on these and other impacts, visit the Marine Debris Impacts section of this site.
Prevention, Control, and Reduction
EPA's marine pollution control (Themes and Priority Programs), solid wastes treatment and control, wastewater management, and pollution prevention programs all provide potential solutions for addressing sources, movement, and impacts of marine debris. Specific laws and regulations provide EPA with the statutory authority to support marine debris Prevention, Control, and Reduction. Visit the Prevention, Control, and Reduction section on this site for more information.
Monitoring and Research
Successfully addressing marine debris depends on identifying and managing the sources, transport, and impacts of marine debris. EPA has funded various marine debris research projects and grants along beaches, coasts, and watersheds to help determine and monitor these sources and their impacts, including the National Marine Debris Monitoring Program. For more information on this program and others, see the Monitoring and Research section of this site.
What You Can Do
There are many actions you can take, at home, at school, at the office, at sea, or even on the go, as well as cleanup events, which can help to prevent marine debris. Visit the What You Can Do section of this site to learn more.
For more information on marine debris, please see the Marine Debris Factsheet | PDF Version (2 pp, 435K, About PDF).
