Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is tackling marine debris issues on the Georgia coast and beyond.
Marine debris is one of the world’s most widespread pollution problems. Its prevalence is a critical issue that affects coastal and ocean ecosystems and the organisms that inhabit them. NOAA defines marine debris as “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.” Marine debris can have negative social, ecological and economic impacts. Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant supports marine debris research and outreach and works with community partners to provide educational opportunities and clean up programs for the public.
Microplastics
Microplastics are a form a marine debris defined as fragments of plastic less than five millimeters in size. They originate from larger pieces of solid plastic pollutants that break down or from primary sources such as microbeads found in health products and beauty products.
Microplastics are a threat to our oceans and aquatic life because they appear to be worldwide in distribution and break down very slowly. Microplastics can also bind to harmful pollutants in the ocean and marine animals often mistake them for food.
It is difficult to remove microplastics once they have entered the environment, but there are daily behaviors that citizens can take to alleviate the impacts of marine debris and microplastic pollution. Some of these behaviors including reducing the amount of waste you produce, recycling or reusing items whenever possible, choosing reusable items over disposable ones, redesigning items to make them last longer and participating in marine debris cleanups.
Resources
Trawl to Trash
In an effort to prevent litter from entering the marine environment, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant launched the Trawl to Trash program, which engages the public in outreach and stewardship activities that educate communities about the impacts of marine debris and encourage use of the recycled trawl bags to collect and remove debris from Georgia’s waterways. As part of the project, commercial shrimpers are creating Trawl to Trash bags made of recycled shrimp net material. The bags are distributed among recreational boaters, fishermen, outdoor enthusiasts, ecotourists, K-12 students and the general public who use the bags to stow their trash, so it doesn’t enter the environment.
Georgia’s Coast is Not An Ashtray
Cigarette litter is the number one most littered item in the nation. Once in the environment, discarded cigarette butts can release toxic chemicals into soil and water and pose a threat to coastal resources and wildlife. Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant has teamed up with Keep Golden Isles Beautiful on cigarette litter prevention efforts since 2014, launching the “Georgia’s Coast is not an Ashtray” campaign, which involves educating the public and local businesses about impact of cigarette butts through public service announcements, social and print media, and targeted outreach activities and resources.
