Marine Debris
Policy Solutions
Chrissy Badaracco
Ocean Conservancy
Summer 2010
What is Ocean Conservancy?
• Non-profit, environmental advocacy group
based in Washington, D.C.
• Combination of scientists, media specialists,
and policy experts
• Six areas of focus include aquaculture, the
Arctic, marine spatial planning, marine
protected areas, fisheries, and marine debris
My Internship
• Government Affairs Intern
– Wrote marine debris policy research papercurrent policies and recommendations for future
– Attended several hearings on Capitol Hill for
supervisors
– Assisted in media and policy work for BP
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Marine Debris Background
• “Any persistent solid material that is manufactured or
processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or
unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the
marine environment” (NOAA)
• Ecological threats include:
– Plastic resin pellets
– Dangerous chemicals
– Nets and fishing line
Past and Current Policies
• MARPOL 73/78: International Convention for
the Prevention of Pollution from Ships at Sea
• UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
• London Convention: 1972 Convention on the
Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of
Wastes and Other Matter
• Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and
Reduction Act of 2006
Marine Debris Research,
Prevention, and Reduction Act
• 3 primary goals:
– Identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and
prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on
the marine environment and navigation safety
– Reactivate the Interagency Marine Debris
Coordinating Committee
– Develop a Federal marine debris information
clearinghouse
Future Recommendations
• Reducing Ocean-based Debris
– Collection on board: improve facilities, work with Coast Guard,
increase jurisdiction of MARPOL’s required garbage
management plan
– Port facilities: increase Coast Guard’s enforcement, offer
incentives (deposit-refund system) to ship owners, no-fault
policy
– Gear labeling: international protocols, localized legislation
– Biodegradability and waste-to-fuel operations
• Reducing Land-based Debris
– Plastic bag and bottle bills
Upcoming Events
• International Coastal Clean-Up: September 25
– Largest organized debris clean-up in world
– Allows for complete inventory of debris, tracked
regionally and globally
• Fifth International Marine Debris Conference
in Honolulu, March 20-25
– Preceded by US conference in Washington, DC in
October