Participating Organizations
Marine debris is being addressed through the dedicated work of organizations and partnerships throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Organizations listed below are actively engaged in efforts to prevent, reduce, remove, and research the impacts of marine debris in the region. For contact information, please visit the organizational websites.
THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM
Established by the Marine Debris Act of 2006, the NOAA Marine Debris
Program is the lead U.S. federal agency for marine debris. The mission
of the program is to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of
marine debris in our oceans and Great Lakes. Our work centers around
coordination, research, removal, monitoring, response, and prevention
of marine debris.
It Starts With a Straw: Campaign to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Annapolis, MD
The City of Annapolis partnered with Annapolis Green in summer 2019
to implement a campaign to reduce plastic pollution in Annapolis,
Maryland. Annapolis Green established relationships with area
restaurants with its “Don’t Suck. Sip Responsibly.” campaign to
eliminate the use of plastic straws during Annapolis Restaurant Week
in February of 2018. The campaign resulted in over thirty local
restaurants, bars, and coffee shops and the area’s two major yacht
clubs going plastic straw-free, offering straws upon request, or
offering only biodegradable straws. Building off that success, this
project is aimed at education regarding the problems associated with
disposable plastic and behavior change through a campaign targeted at
restaurant use and their customer use of disposable plastic. The data
gathered will be used to identify how additional efforts should be
targeted and will support the City’s current and future work to
prevent waterway pollution.
https://annapolisgreen.com/cause/starts-with-a-straw/
Kent Island Beach Cleanups
They conduct 1-2 cleanups per month on Kent Island. They participate
in the annual international coastal cleanup in September. They started
an internship program for high schoolers in 2017.
https://www.kentislandbeachcleanups.com/
Litter Less B-more Campaign and Program
Trash Free Maryland started a pilot program, in the fall of 2018, to
help reduce litter in neighborhoods and throughout the city. The
program has volunteers conduct weekly cleanings around their
neighborhood and workspace over an eight week period. The volunteers
would also post pictures of the litter on social media to raise
awareness and educate the community on the issue.
https://trashfreemaryland.org/lesslitterbmore/
Plastic Free QAC (Queen Anne's County)
Plastic Free QAC is raising awarness of the hazards of single-use
plastics. By doing this they are hoping to change people's habits and
mind-sets to then eliminate single-use plastics.
https://plasticfreeqac.com/
Protect Our Sand and Sea: Campaign to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Ocean City, MD
Last year the Ocean City Surfrider Foundation launched a citywide
Strawless Summer Campaign demonstrating to city leaders the need and
desire of area businesses (and individuals) to support single-use
plastic source reduction strategies. Over 60 local businesses signed
the pledge to reduce plastic straw use. The Mayor and City Council
reached out to the Ocean City Green Team to take the Strawless Summer
campaign to another level of source reduction for the plastic waste
stream in Ocean City by encouraging/rewarding more businesses to go
strawless, as well as motivate them to take further steps to reduce
single-use plastics and other sources of waste. Building off that
work, this project implemented a behavior change campaign with area
restaurants throughout the summer of 2019 to reduce the amount of
single-use plastic being provided and consumed in Ocean City.
https://mdcoastalbays.org/protect-our-sand-and-sea-by-making-a-pledge-or-more