Some debris is hand delivered by beach visitors who leave their trash behind. Overflowing sewer systems, another source of land-based debris, carry sewage, litter, street runoff, and medical wastes. And the debris that winds up on one country's shore may have originated half a world away. Swedish oil containers can wash up in Anguilla or Mexican bleach bottles in Texas-ocean currents do not recognize national boundaries. It is important to remember that the country of origin may have had nothing to do with the item's improper disposal.
People are the solution.
No matter where it began, human hands and a human face lie behind every piece of garbage that enters the marine environment. The responsibility for this world-wide problem does not belong solely to shipping companies, fishing fleets, and governments. Ultimately, some individual had to throw that trash overboard, into the street, down the toilet, or into the storm drain. People are the problem, but people are also the solution. Marine debris is one pollution problem that individuals can solve by direct, individual action.