Remote Marine Debris

Marine debris is defined as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes. Today, there is no place on Earth immune to this problem. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service (NOS)

Simply put, marine debris is human-made garbage that ends up in the ocean and on the beach whether discarded in or near the ocean, purposefully or not. Plastics are the most often seen category of debris found along Washington coast beaches. Marine debris is not only unsightly, but it impacts wildlife.

The health of marine ecosystems are strongly affected by marine debris. Plastic marine debris can damage habitats, entangle wildlife, cause injury via ingestion, impair vessel engines, create navigation hazards, inflict economic loss, and transport non-native species.

 NOAA Plastic Marine Debris Fact Sheet 

Much of the marine debris that washes onto Washington beaches comes from the ocean. Some items come from far away and have spent a long time in the ocean. Some items can be identified as being from specific events like natural disasters such as tsunamis or from storms that buck container ships; spilt cargo can be tracked washing ashore in waves along Washington beaches. The currents seen at left bring these items across the Pacific and onto our beaches, no matter how remote.

Marine debris travels across the open ocean pushed by wind, waves and currents. Circular currents or gyres cause debris to accumulate into patches that swirl around the world's oceans known as Garbage Patches. While garbage certainly comes to shore year round, winter storms bring large amount of plastics from these piles of debris onto Washington beaches.

Once the debris has made landfall, a whole other set of problems emerge.

There is no area of the ocean that is immune to the impacts of marine debris, no matter how far from land or how deep the waters. Plastics are being found in the most remote parts of our oceans. There is no shoreline that has not been impacted by marine debris, no matter how many layers of designation are put in place to protect it.

The coastline of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula is no exception. Despite this area being protected by designations of the Olympic National Park, NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary designation, US Fish & Wildlife Refuges and four Native Nations (Hoh, Makah, Quileute, and the Quinault Indian Nation), ocean currents deposit debris on remote peninsula beaches like a conveyor belt throughout the year.

Olympic National Park hosts over 50 miles of rugged wilderness coast that is accessed by hiking on sandy and rocky beaches as well as over steep headlands, all while contending with tidal changes that could trap you until the tide recedes. Very little of the coast easy to access with a short walk, and many areas require a moderately strenuous hike to the beach that ends in a long series of steps and/or switchbacks, followed by climbing over the massive drift logs that protect the beach from powerful winter storms.  Accessing beaches for debris cleanups are easier in some areas south of Olympic National Park where vehicles can be driven on sandy beaches.

The wilderness coast of Olympic National Park is as beautiful as it is wild and rugged. Getting into this special environment takes planning, commitment, and time. Reaching the isolated stretches of the coast can take days of hiking with a heavy backpack trudging over wet sand, hopping over boulders or climbing over headlands.

Despite its' remote nature and the many levels of protection, peninsula beaches are littered with marine debris. Day hikers and backpackers do their best to haul out what they can on already heavy packs. Others, perhaps disheartened with the amount of marine debris along the shoreline or in an effort to stop the debris from returning to the ocean, toss items up into logs or the forest with good intention. As these items begin to accumulate into a pile, a cache begins to form.

While organized and individual cleanups occur throughout the year, remote caches are often out of reach and due to this, they only grow in size. As the piles grow, so do peoples concerns about their impacts. A special effort, a mission if you will, would need to be coordinated to plan and undertake these complex removal operations.

South Sand Point is south of the Ozette Triangle in Olympic National Park. Hiking the three miles through the forest to get to the beach can be challenging, especially when wet, despite recent boardwalk improvements. Once on the beach, it becomes the trail for the roughly half mile walk to the South Sand Point cache.

This distance and mileage made it difficult to think of hiking the debris from the cache out on the triangle trail. An alternative plan needed to be formed. Good thing a group of persistent people had their eye on such an effort.

Carol Bernthal (retired Superintendent ), as well as Nicole Harris (formerly of the NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary) had their eyes on removing the ever-growing cache and they were in good company with: Liz Schotman (Surfrider Washington); Heather Stephens and Nicole Kennedy (Olympic National Park); Lee First (Twin Harbor Waterkeeper); Nancy Messner and Roy Morris (Lions Club International); Kelsie Donleycott (CoastSavers Volunteer); and Megan Juran (CoastSavers Coordinator).

Fortunately for us, the cache was located on the oceanside of a shorter route, one that spanned the two miles from Ozette Lake to South Sand Point. The lake-end of the trail was just south of the Ericson's Bay camping area. Being experienced with canoes and kayak, Carol and Lee each formed a group of lake-based volunteers. They would set up a basecamp at Ericson's Bay and paddle the roughly half mile to the trail and hike the two miles to the beach to load up and hike the cache load by load, two miles at a time, to the lake.

Before the cache was set to be hauled out, it needed to be removed from the soggy depression and dried out. Megan led a small crew of volunteers that were ocean-based to sort the cache and ready it before the lake-based crew arrived to begin the hauling mission. Once grouped, things like water bottles and hard plastic buoys were counted, while the total contents were documented to illustrate the extent of the cache.

We knew the hike to the lake would be challenging and were thankful to hear that the Olympic National Park Trail Crew had removed several obstacles to ease the rugged route. Although we were fortunate to have gotten a break in the rain, we knew a very wet spring meant that the trail would quickly become muddy. The cache was large but the group was dedicated, could not be deterred and was prepared for the strenuous undertaking.

Frame packs, feed bags and old rubber bike tubes were just some of the things used to get the cache from the beach to the lake. Sheer determination was another. Packs were heavy but spirits were high. Sore backs were overshadowed by the elation felt every time we returned to the cache and saw it dwindling in size, until finally it was gone.

Motorboat support was critical for the safety and success of the removal mission. Olympic National Park Natural Resources and Wilderness Information Center staff, as well as volunteer Andrew Harris, were on hand to load the bags from the lakeside cache and ferry them to the Ranger Station. Securing the committment of two boats was necessary to accomplish the removal mission in one day as well as for safety in the event of an emergency.

Nicole Baker, pictured left, works as a recycling liaison with Net Your Problem and was ready with a van at the Ozette Ranger Station to recieve the recycling from the cache. Debris items were sorted into giant sacks for transport to a Seattle warehouse for storage. Once enough recyclables are collected for the next step on their recycling journey to Richmond, B.C., Nicole will take the large load of marine debris to Canada to be given another change at life.

The Ocean Plastic Depot will target materials collected from cleanup efforts, as well as legacy equipment from the marine sector, to divert landfill waste and reduce oceanic plastic pollution. It will provide a designated location for these materials to be properly contained and select items recycled.  oceanlegacy.ca 

Marine debris, like the yellow aquaculture ropes pictured left, are given another life when they are recycled and remolded into useful items like the crab sizers pictured left.

"Recycling is the easiest way to conserve our natural resources and protect the beautiful places we cherish. It also creates meaningful jobs and is great for the economy!" John Lair

Microplastics are small plastic pieces or fibers that are smaller than 5 mm in size, or about the size of a pencil eraser and smaller. These pieces can be so small that they fit on the tip of your finger, while some can’t even be seen with the human eye! There are many different types of microplastics, including beads, fragments, pellets, film, foam, and fibers. marinedebris.noaa.gov

Plastics plague the ocean and beaches around the world. While people are determined to pick up the marine debris once it makes landfall, it is often not before the sun, wind and waves degrade these materials, often to the point of breaking them up into smaller pieces. Plastics, especially styrofoam, are particularly susceptible to these impacts, can often and sadly, be seen in pieces in the wrack line at the beach, the line of debris left after high tide. The handful at left was easily picked up in seconds on the beach out from the cache.

You can help the beach by participating in regular and scheduled cleanups. Besides the three annual cleanups CoastSavers works with partners to coordinate, we encourage people to clean up anytime, anywhere. These efforts can help keep our beaches clean and reduce the amount of plastics breaking down into microplastics.

The Washington Coast Cleanup (WCC) takes place the Saturday closest to Earth Day in April. The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) typically takes place the third Saturday in September. Both these cleanups take place on Pacific Coast and Strait of Juan de Fuca beaches. We ask volunteers to register on our website to find participating beaches. A July 5th cleanup also occurs to cleanup fireworks debris along the central and south Pacific coast Pacific Beach to Long Beach.

Finding alternatives to single-use items is a great place to start at home. Avoid purchasing products in plastic packaging where you can and instead of single-use switch items switch to reusables like coffee mugs, water bottles and cutlery to drastically reduce the amount of plastics you are consuming and sending to the landfill. Being conscious of and reducing your plastics consumption can help keep them out of waterways and off beaches.

While we can all make an effort to do our part at home, using your voice to advocate for the ocean to officials in the position to make change can greatly impact the cause. Working with local community groups can applify your voice for change. Start a letter writing campaign, join a likeminded community group, or meet with government officials to express your concerns. And, of course, don't forget to join us for a cleanup, better, yet, all three.