International Actions to Address Marine Litter

Marine litter is a significant problem that is impacting oceans and coasts worldwide. Uncollected and mismanaged waste, especially plastics, can be transported globally through waterways and ocean currents and can affect people and coastal ecosystems in the United States.

The U.S. works with international partners to address marine litter through the following actions:

Improving solid waste management on land, especially waste collection
Preventing and reducing litter from entering waterways through litter capture and removal
Promoting multi-stakeholder approaches for addressing marine litter
Facilitating enabling environments for improvements to solid waste management infrastructure, including recycling

Learn more about EPA’s International Actions to Reduce and Prevent Marine Litter:

International Policy Engagement on Marine Litter

Marine litter is a top agenda item in multilateral policy fora across the globe. EPA participates and leads in international multilateral policy fora to advance EPA marine litter policies and programs.

See below for information on the various multilateral policy fora where EPA engages on marine litter.

Development of Global Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment. Several resolutions have been passed under UNEA that address marine litter. The Fifth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) historically launched an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) to develop a global legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by the end of 2024, including in the marine environment. The work of the INC is facilitated by a Secretariat hosted by the UN Environment Program (UNEP).

EPA works closely with its interagency and international partners to provide expertise on prevention and management of plastic pollution. EPA plays a critical role as part of the U.S. delegation to the INCs and is actively involved in the negotiations to develop this new global instrument.

The INC schedule aims to conclude negotiations by the end of 2024. For more information on the INC, please visit Secretariat’s website.

Land-Based Sources Protocol to the Cartagena Convention

The U.S. is party to the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol), which was signed in 1999 in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, and entered into force in 2010 at the Conference of the Parties (COP) for the Cartagena Convention. The LBS Protocol is a legally binding protocol to the Cartagena Convention, and incorporates general obligations to address land-based sources of pollution in the Wider Caribbean, including marine litter.

Our Ocean Conference

The Our Ocean Conference (OOC) brings together representatives from governments, the private sector, civil society, and academia - all from across the globe - to engage in cooperative discussion and commit to concrete actions necessary to support the future of a healthy ocean and climate. To learn more about the history of the Our Ocean Conference, as well as the United States’ involvement, please visit the Department of State’s OOC webpage. As a part of the agency’s efforts to combat marine pollution and climate change, EPA has announced more than USD 2.38 billion in commitments over the span of the last two conferences.

During the 2023 Our Ocean Conference hosted by Panama, focus was placed on six areas of action: promoting marine protected areas, fostering a sustainable blue economy, tackling the climate crisis, supporting maritime security, advancing sustainable fisheries, and combating marine pollution. EPA committed USD 140 million in improvements to recycling infrastructure to reduce land-based sources of plastic waste to the marine environment. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA also committed its intent to spend USD 1.7 billion to restore ecosystems, increase community and habitat resilience, and employ nature-based solutions to prevent and clean up nutrient and other pollution across some of the nation's most essential, beloved, and populated watersheds. The United States made 77 announcements, from eight agencies and offices, worth nearly USD 6 billion. This is more than twice as much as what the United States pledged at the 2022 conference in Palau.

At the 2022 Our Ocean Conference hosted by Palau, the Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of International and Tribal Affairs made announcements on behalf of the United States Government. As a part of the announcements, EPA committed USD 542 million to reducing land-based sources of pollution into our oceans.

Global Partnership on Marine Litter

The U.S. is a member of the voluntary Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML). The GPML is a multi-stakeholder partnership which brings together all the actors working on marine litter prevention and reduction. EPA works with the GPML on marine litter policy and program development to assist countries in meeting their needs to address marine litter.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC): Virtual Working Group (VWG) on Marine Debris

The APEC VWG on Marine Debris was formed in 2014 by the Chemicals Dialogue in collaboration with the Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) to promote innovative solutions to the issue of marine debris with a particular focus on innovations in land-based solid waste management to prevent debris from entering the ocean. EPA works with interagency partners to engage in the APEC VWG to advance U.S. Government marine litter policies and solutions.

Plastic Waste Partnership under Basel Convention

EPA is a member of the Basel Plastic Waste Partnership (PWP) which was established at the 14th Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention in 2019. The objective of the PWP is to improve and promote the environmentally sound management of plastic waste at the global, regional and national levels and prevent and minimize their generation so as to, among other things, reduce significantly and in the long-term eliminate the discharge of plastic waste and microplastics into the environment, in particular, the marine environment.

EPA’s International Projects to Reduce and Prevent Marine Litter

EPA works bilaterally and multilaterally across the globe to implement projects that reduce and prevent land-based sources of marine litter. Some of our efforts focus on bilateral technical assistance to improve solid waste management in various countries. Projects have focused on improving waste collection in communities with scarce collection or through inclusion and formalization of the informal waste sector. Most of EPA’s projects addressing marine litter have been through our international Trash Free Waters initiatives.

Trash Free Waters International

EPA’s international projects to address marine litter are based on Trash Free Waters (TFW) – EPA’s strategic, stakeholder-based approach to address marine litter through improvements in solid waste management and prioritizing community needs. TFW can be implemented as a national program or at the local level within communities along a coast or further upstream in the watershed. TFW works by bringing together stakeholders to identify and prioritize projects that prevent and reduce litter from entering waterways and eventually the ocean. TFW projects can range from raising public awareness on sources and types of marine litter to installation of litter capture devices or improvements to solid waste management.

Many countries face challenges that are impeding efforts to address marine litter. EPA’s international TFW efforts have demonstrated that countries face challenges, including:

Understanding national ministry roles to address marine litter and solid waste management
Difficulty in addressing gaps or inadequacies in policies and enforcement
Limited resources
High leadership turnover on the issue

EPA promotes TFW internationally as a model for countries to address these challenges and better manage their land-based sources of marine litter. See below for more information on EPA’s international TFW initiatives.

Prevention and Mitigation of Plastic Pollution

EPA partnered with UNEP’s Coordinating Body for the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) to fund and oversee the implementation of three community-based integrated waste management projects in Malaysia and Indonesia. These projects incorporate inclusive waste management practices and help to reduce land-based sources of marine litter. The projects were completed in September 2022 and are described in more detail below:

Malaysia

In the Mersing Island archipelago, a small waste transfer and recycling facility was established to help local households increase the recovery of plastics. This project leveraged existing work from the NGO Reef Check and helped to increase recovery of recyclables, procure waste bins, and raise public awareness through a partnership with local resorts. Local stakeholders were also trained to segregate and collect waste at the household-level and at nearby resorts.

Indonesia

In Makassar City, the World Wildlife Fund enhanced existing operations of a community-based materials recovery facility in an Indonesian fishing village. This project involved adding waste bank units to the city and trained users on how to maintain and operate these units.
EPA and COBSEA funded a social enterprise startup that both empowers women and creates plastic waste valorization in Untia, Makassar, Indonesia. The women were trained and equipped with skills needed to create products made from plastic waste – such as tote bags and other items. The proceeds from these sales also help to support their children’s education and household needs.

Trash Free Waters in Latin America and the Caribbean

Since 2016, EPA has worked with governments and other partners in Latin American and the Caribbean to address their marine litter issues through EPA’s Trash Free Waters approach. A summary of some of those key projects below:

Jamaica

Project: The project in Whitehouse-Bluefields community focused on establishing a program for waste collection and separation. The project accelerated community action through the establishment of collection sites, which included the strategic placement of waste bins to improve recycling and awareness.
Partners: United Nations Caribbean Environment Program; Sandals Foundation; Peace Corps Jamaica
Funding: EPA – $25K; Sandals Foundation – $5K; Leveraged Funds: $700K for a UN Environment Program multi-year plastics initiative
Metrics: 200 bins labelled and placed; 34 collection locations established; 20 outreach activities conducted

Panama

Project: The project in Panama City focused on raising public awareness and installed trash capture booms on Juan Diaz River, where trash initially collected from the booms was transferred to a local recycling center for bailing/processing. The project also developed educational tools for local schools and community organizations on the impacts of marine litter and plastics in the environment.
Partners: United Nations Environment Program; Ministry of Environment Panama; ANCON (NGO)
Funding: EPA – $25K
Metrics: 5 environmental education and outreach campaigns conducted in schools; 2 commercial facilities trained in waste separation and recycling; 2 trash capture devices installed; 7 neighborhoods sensitized to project and river booms

vehicle with a Spanish billboard warning of water pollution from trash

Peru

Project: The project focused on job training in two communities within the municipality of Chincha for informal waste pickers and improved the connection between waste pickers and a regional recycling facility. As part of the formalization effort, our partner, Ciudad Saludable, implemented a source segregation and selective collection program that was expanded and now includes alliances with recycling associations. The project also identified litter leakage hot spots for Chincha to help prioritize removal efforts.
Partners: Ministry of Environment Peru; U.S. Embassy Peru; Ica Regional Government; Ciudad Saludable (NGO); Coca-Cola
Funding: EPA – $75K; Leveraged Funds: Coca-Cola -$300K; USAID - $300K used to construct an additional regional collection facility for recyclable material
Metrics: 2 regional job trainings to formalize and register waste pickers; 16 hot spot sites identified, and a plan for regular waste removal

Central America

EPA is currently working with a selected group of CAFTA-DR countries (Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Dominican Republic) and Panama on the solid waste management and marine litter nexus and how stakeholders can collaborate to ensure initiatives in both areas are better coordinated and complementary of each other.

Through an interagency agreement with the Department of State, EPA worked with the national governments of Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic to engage all stakeholders in identifying solutions to the marine litter problem through improvements in solid waste management. Activities included virtual national dialogues, assisting in their development of national action plans for marine litter, and on-the-ground projects that support the countries’ own efforts. National action plans were completed in Costa Rica (2021), Panama (2022), and the Dominican Republic (2023). In addition, EPA used appropriated funds to support the development of national action plans for marine litter in El Salvador (completed in 2022) and Guatemala (to be completed in 2023). The EPA completed all 3 planned workshops on landfill management in Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic in late summer 2021 and in 2022 conducted a sub-regional workshop in Central America Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala).

Learn more about Marine Litter in Capacity-Building Programs Under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).

North America

EPA works with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), along with the governments of Mexico and Canada, to implement marine litter mitigation efforts in North American border watersheds, specifically the Salish Sea region and Tijuana River tributaries. EPA participates in the Steering Committee with a focus on bringing together stakeholders in border watersheds to identify and prioritize marine litter reduction projects. The “Last Stop: the Ocean” campaign is being launched to raise public awareness about the flow of litter downstream to the ocean. Materials have been designed to create awareness on water and trash flows and provide simple solutions for individuals to prevent and reduce land-based marine litter. This campaign was developed by the CEC in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Mexico's Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), and the EPA, as part of a trinational collaborative project on building solutions to reduce marine litter.

Looking for more resources? The Reducing Marine Litter Through Local Action: A Toolkit for Community Engagement targets inland urban areas and communities and focuses on water and trash flow, the full life cycle of a product, and concrete actions that offer individual solutions. You can also learn more about the CEC project and its community solutions for reducing marine litter.

Contacts

For additional information on EPA's international actions to address marine litter, contact:

Elle Chang
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of International and Tribal Affairs
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
E-mail: Chang.Elle@epa.gov
(202) 564-6600