The problem of marine debris is worldwide, but it is especially forefront in our state where one third of it is water! As defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, marine debris would be all objects that do not naturally occur there - generally trash - articles that have been made and/or used by people and discarded. Trash that is discarded does not stay in one location but rather can travel anywhere. A tremendous amountof marine litter in the central north Pacific has been dubbed "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch." It extends over an indeterminate area sometimes said to be as large as Texas - depending on the degree of plastic concentration used to define the affected area. More recently a similar giant patch has been found in the Atlantic Ocean, with again, the main component being plastic. See http://www.ecori.org/pollution-contamination/2011/7/15/sailing-on-a-plastic-sea.html.
Besides floating pollution patches, the marine debris can interfere with ocean wildlife and organisms and interfere with ocean ecosystems. If one type of organism becomes endangered or threatened, whole ecosystems can collapse. In addition, sea life is threatened through entanglement or ingestion of objects. Plastics are particularly harmful.
About 80% of marine debris comes from land based sources : beachgoers, litterers, landfills, sewer pipes, and industrial facilities. Trash discarded anywhere can reach the ocean or bay via winds and streams. Sometimes industrial facilities dispose of waste improperly. Storm run-off can carry motor oil from vehicles as well as fertilizers and pesticides from farms and residences. Run-off water laden with these products can reach rivers and streams and eventually the ocean. The other 20% of debris consists of materials that fall overboard from commercial and recreation craft, such as fishing gear, including nets and monofilament lines. Freighters also contribute to marine pollution when choppy conditions toss cargo overboard. Containers that are tossed over then break and release contents into the bay or ocean.
Problems of marine debris can be alleviated through a combination of education and activisim. Some organizations furthering these aims are the Ocean Conservancy and the Cousteau Society. In Rhode Island, Save the Bay (http://www.savebay.org/) organization was successful in fighting proposed oil refineries in Tiverton and Jamestown and continues actively promoting legislation and actions that protect the integrity of Narragansett Bay. More recently, it joined forces with activist groups in Massachusetts to successfully oppose an LNG terminal in Fall River, MA. Every year the Audubon Society of RI sponsors beach clean-ups on the 3rd Saturday in September as part of an International Coastal Clean-up. This event is coordinated for coastal areas around the world to occur at the same time. Not only do participants pick up debris but they are asked to use a tally sheet that indicates what items are found precisely. Results have been used to pass legislation in RI outlawing smoking on all public beaches when cigarette butts (which are highly poisonous when ingested) turned up as a common contaminant for several years.
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