Marine debris from land consists of both trash and pollutants from landscapes, driveways, parking lots, and streets. Examples of trash are leaves, twigs, soil, and grass clippings blown into the street, and paper, plastic, and cigarette butts tossed from vehicles. Examples of items that become pollutants are pet wastes, motor oils, fertilizers, and pesticides. The trash that ends up in the marine environment impacts marine life from ingestion to entanglement. Thousands of marine animals die every year from becoming entangled in plastic six-pack rings, strapping bands, fishing line, and discarded ropes and nets.
Accidental ingestion occurs when marine animals confuse debris, especially plastic items, for food.
Birds have even been observed feeding this debris to their young. Exacerbating the problem is that much of this trash persists for decades or even hundreds of years in the marine environment. Remove trash from your yard and street before it has a chance to go down the storm drain. In most communities, it is illegal to blow grass clippings into the street. Instead, blow or sweep clippings into the yard where they will decompose and release nutrients into your grass.