Help Halt Marine Pollution

About half of the population of North America lives within 100 miles (160 km) of the Atlantic, Gulf, or Pacific coast, and the percentage is growing. The presence of so many people is putting an increasing strain on coastal areas.

One of the primary polluters of coastal waters is human sewage. Many communities drain raw, untreated sewage into harbors and ocean water through outfall pipes. Others, like New York City and cities in northern New Jersey, annually dump millions of gallons of treated sewage, called sludge, into the ocean. Beaches are periodically closed when the water is deemed unsafe for swimming.

Though not harmful to humans, plastic is also a pollutant of coastal waters. Some of the plastic has been disposed of on land and then washed into coastal waters through streams and sewer systems. Some has blown into the water from nearby landfills. And still other plastic waste is simply litter that people have carelessly left on beaches.

Every year more than a million birds and thousands of fish, seals, otters, and turtles die because of plastic. Lightweight and buoyant, plastic bags and polystyrene containers float on the water, where birds, fish and other sea creatures mistake them for food. These animals die from choking and malnutrition. They also get ensnared in transparent plastic fishing lines, nets, and six-pack rings, and die from starvation.

You can do your part to keep coastal areas clean:

• Do not make the sewage system absorb wastes it cannot handle. Do not pour any hazardous wastes on the ground, into a storm sewer, or into a sink or toilet.

• Use as little plastic as possible. Do not leave plastic bags or foam cups, plates, and fast-food containers on the beach. Cut apart six-pack rings before disposing of them so that they cannot ensnare birds and fish.

• If you see litter on a beach, pick it up. Leave the area as clean as or cleaner than it was before you came.