Water and Land - Litter Connects Us All

by E. Gallagher

Last Updated August 2024

Did you know around 8 million tons of trash enter our oceans each year?

At this rate, some scientists believe that by weight, there will be more marine litter than fish in our oceans by 2050.

So, what is marine litter, and why should you care? 

Marine litter is any human-made item that ends up in our oceans when it is not supposed to. You’re impacted by it more than you might think.

The last time you went to the beach, you may have seen plastic, metal, or glass in the sand. While litter on our land can make it unpleasant and even unsafe to walk, litter in the ocean can make it dangerous to swim. As litter degrades in the ocean, chemicals leech into our waters. These chemicals contribute to harmful bacteria growth, making it unsafe to swim and negatively impacting local tourism and our economy. 

Litter in the water isn’t dangerous only for us. It is estimated that over one million marine animals are killed by litter each year. Many get tangled up and stuck in items such as discarded fishing nets, jars, and plastic bags. Others confuse litter for food—a dangerous mistake, as most litter cannot be digested. Some animals are poisoned by harmful chemicals after eating items like cigarette butts, which are the most littered item both on land and in our oceans. Other marine animals find their airways and stomachs increasingly blocked with each human-made item they confuse for food, leading to starvation and eventually death.

Why is litter in our oceans?

You might think marine litter mostly comes from boats or offshore infrastructure like oil rigs. In reality, 80% of marine litter comes from the land. 

While the wind and the tide can take in trash beachgoers leave behind on the sand or in overflowing trash receptacles, this is not the primary source of marine litter. Much of what ends up in our waters comes from the trash people throw out their car window or let fall out of their pocket onto our streets, even if that street is thousands of miles away from the ocean.

Litter moves from the streets into our waterways through stormwater runoff. Runoff is the rain, hail, and melted snow that flows down our streets and sidewalks until finding a storm drain. This runoff does not get treated at a wastewater treatment plant before ending up in our waters. 

What happens to litter in our oceans?

Once litter is in our waters, it’s not going anywhere any time soon. Aluminum cans are estimated to take 200 years to decompose in the ocean, while fishing line is said to stick around for about 600 years. Even something as natural as an apple core takes twice as long to decompose in the ocean than on land.

When plastic enters the ocean and starts to decompose, it breaks apart into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. Marine animals often mistake these tiny bits of plastic for food, such as seabirds who feed them to their young believing they are fish eggs. Once ingested, these microplastics cannot be digested. 

After consumption, some animals get sick and die, while others continue living with the toxic chemicals microplastics leave behind in their bodies. When these surviving sea creatures are caught and eaten by humans, we unknowingly ingest the harmful compounds of the microplastics we let enter our waters. Researchers are beginning to study the impact of microplastics on our oceans and on us.

What can you do to reduce marine litter? 

There are many ways you can prevent litter from ending up in our oceans:

2. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

• Refuse single-use plastics and other items with a short lifespan that quickly get sent to landfills. Less trash means less chance it will end up where it doesn’t belong.
• Reduce your use of plastic items by instead choosing metal, cardboard, or glass alternatives. They tend to last longer and are more likely to be recyclable.
• Reuse items like take-out containers and glass jars until it is time to recycle them. Consider ways to give an item a second life before disposing of it.
• Recycle everything you can, but always be sure you’re recycling correctly. Not sure if an item is recyclable? Check out our Waste Wizard for disposal instructions in the City of Norfolk.

Always remember, marine litter is preventable. You can be a part of the solution.

Want to learn more?

Click here to learn more about marine plastic pollution.

Click here to read a global assessment of marine litter.

Click here to learn more about microplastics in seafood.