However measures to reduce or prevent marine litter should be a part of waste management in society as a whole.

The first step in good waste management must begin with preventing waste from being generated what is never produced does not have to be disposed of and cannot become marine litter.

The main land based sources of marine litter are municipal landfills (waste dumps) located on the coast, riverine transport of waste from landfills and other sources, discharges of untreated municipal sewage and storm water, industrial facilities, medical waste and tourism (recreational visitors, beach goers).

For other meanings of litter, see Litter (disambiguation).

Formulation and implementation of improved solid waste management programmes in small rural communities to prevent litter from escaping into rivers and the marine and coastal environment

People who are waste wise in general and who realize that waste is a common problem and not one that someone else should take care of will have the same responsible attitude that would eventually reduce marine litter.

Increasing local planning and management capacity to avoid location of waste dump sites near coastlines or waterways or to prevent litter from escaping into the marine and coastal environment

Sources of marine litter

Effects of marine litter

People who naively believed that cows ate grass discovered that beef cattle in feed lots may be fed anything from corn to fish meal, chicken litter (complete with chicken droppings), and slaughterhouse waste.

According to other calculations, some 8 million items of marine litter have been estimated to enter oceans and seas every day, about 5 million of which (solid waste) are thrown overboard or lost from ships.

Considering the very slow rate of degradation of most marine litter items, a continuous input of large quantities of marine litter will result in a gradual increase of litter in the coastal and marine environment.

Therefore, please be mindful before you litter.

Challenges in preventing and combating marine litter

The study shows that the major source of litter into the marine environment is from coastal urban centres owing to the lack of coastal solid waste management, to inadequate management or to the failure of such management.

A southern France firefighters' department statistic attributes 16 of local bushfires to cigarette litter thrown out of moving vehicles (and 13.8 to cigarette litter from pedestrians).

E. Waste disposal and waste management

The United Nations Environment Programme and the marine litter challenge

Overview of activities of regional seas programmes on marine litter

Inclusion of marine litter in global and regional environmental assessments

As long as the input of non degradable litter into the marine environment continues, the result will be increased quantities of marine litter in the coastal and marine environments.

Students litter them in the school yard after they are done.

Pieces of marine litter can also transport invasive species between seas.

Surface litter is generally not included as part of soil organic matter.

The United States has a number of marine litter and debris activities.

The overall objective of the currently scheduled project is to seek sustainable management of marine litter in the NOWPAP region in line with the sources, quantities and adverse effects of marine litter.

Plastic litter is increasingly believed to be a source of persistent toxic substances.

Waste materials

Solid waste

The waste is separated into recyclable materials (plastics, metals) and organic waste.

There is a need to differentiate between measures aimed at preventing marine litter at the source and measures taken to deal with marine litter once it is already present in the marine and coastal environment.

Development of guidelines for management of marine litter at the regional and national levels

Waste sorting is the process by which waste is separated into different elements.

Haste makes waste.

Solid Waste Management

(viii) Waste processing.

In most places, infrastructure is non existent and millions of unexploded landmines litter the soil.

The main findings of the MED POL assessment of coastal litter in the Mediterranean are

Localization, transport and burial of radioactive waste, deactivating materials and maintaining radioactive waste repositories

Solid waste treatment The treatment of solid wastes is a key component of waste management.

In 2002, over 390,000 volunteers in 100 countries took part in these campaigns. They removed marine litter from more than 21,000 km of coastline and waterways, collecting more than 6.2 million pieces of marine litter, weighing over 4,000 tonnes.

A leaflet on marine litter, entitled Tightening the noose , was also published recently by UNEP. As mentioned earlier, in order to address the global and transboundary problem of marine litter, an interdisciplinary, multisectoral and holistic approach should be taken.

What a waste. Anyway.

Move card from waste

Move waste to stock