Below are links to descriptions of funded stewardship projects in the field of Marine Debris. Some are only short descriptions, others are more robust articles that have been published in The Earth Scientist. We hope they inspire you to take positive environmental actions within your community, and consider applying to NOAA Planet Stewards for funding.

Recharging Recycling

(Michele — High school teacher, Chantilly, Virginia)

High school girls’ lacrosse team collecting recyclables from athletic field.

A teacher and her students at a large Virginia high school decided to do something about the huge number of potentially recyclable items ending up in the trash every day at her school. Understanding that plastic is the most common type of marine debris, and seeing that many of the trashed recyclables were plastic, Michele and 150 students developed a program to recharge the recycling efforts at their school.

The Recharging Recycling campaign focused on reducing plastic refuse by increasing the use of water bottle refilling stations and the correct use of recycling bins. To begin, the students circulated a recycling survey around school to determine attitudes about recycling. They placed recycling bins by the stadium field. Advertising for the recycling program was shared on the Knightly News school video program. By the end of the school year, the students engaged in 3,750 hours of stewardship activities, saving 14,754 single use 16.9 oz. water bottles from use and collecting over 3,260 1-gallon trash bags full of recycling from recycling bins they placed outside.

Michele became a NOAA Planet Steward in 2019. She teaches high school biology, geosystems, and oceanography in Chantilly, Virginia.

Baltimore Planet Stewards

(Tim - Aquarium Educator, Maryland)

Henry Hall Fellows picking up trash on Baltimore harbor piers.

Through the Henry Hall Fellowship program, 17 Baltimore high school students were educated on environmental issues focusing on the role and impact of marine debris on natural environments. During a series of clean up events, over 3,000 pieces of trash were collected, separated and categorized. Students noted that the most collected trash objects were cigarette butts - which is the number one marine debris pollutant in the world. The students created an advocacy plan to effect systemic behavioral change among cigarette smokers around Baltimore City’s Harbor. The advocacy plan involved a presentation proposal to the National Aquarium to stop cigarette littering on its property and its surrounding area; and an awareness video for smokers about the negative impact cigarette waste has on the environment. Students also wrote and taught lessons to over 260 people throughout the academic year including teaching Cecil Elementary School students and National Aquarium visitors. Topics included how human behavior and the history of urbanization in Baltimore affected environmental issues such as marine debris; how to properly dispose of waste e.g., recycling vs. compost vs. waste.

Survey and Removal of Marine Debris from Koki Beach Park coastline in Hana, Maui

(Briana - Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, HI)

Students using a microplastic sifter to sift marine debris (2.5 cm and under) from the sand and recording data on Koki Beach.

Multiple shorelines along the coastline in the remote town of Hana, Maui are critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals, threatened hawksbill sea turtles, and green sea turtles, and unfortunately are also littered with plastic pollution and other marine debris. Marine debris poses substantial threats to the local marine wildlife, considering that deposition along the shoreline and seafloor, and ingestion and entanglement by wildlife are considered to be the most detrimental impacts. Furthermore, marine debris along the Hana coastlines seems to be increasing over time, which could pose an enhanced threat into the future.

To date, 53 students have participated in the project, totaling 615 hours actively engaged in stewardship activities to remove 290.5 pounds of marine debris from the coastline of Hana, Maui. In the 2022-2023 school year, 43 more marine science students in two different cohorts will participate in this program.