Assessing and Monitoring Floatable Debris

This document provides examples of monitoring and assessment programs that have been established in the United States to address the impact of floatable debris, as well as examples of mitigation activities to address floatable debris, and contact information. Section 1 of the document discusses some of the impacts of floatable debris on the aquatic environment, and describes the current legislation available to address those impacts. Section 2 of this document discusses the types and origins of floatable debris. Section 3 discusses a variety of plans and programs that have been developed and implemented to assess and monitor floatable debris. Section 4 presents recommendations for developing assessment and monitoring programs that were presented in the Marine Debris Survey Manual, developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Chapter 16 of EPA's Volunteer Estuary Monitoring: A Methods Manual (USEPA, 1993). Section 5 provides a number of examples of prevention and mitigation activities associated with floatable debris that are underway around the country.