December 18, 2023 – The Marine Debris Foundation has announced its first round of grant awards. Recipients have been notified and funding will be delivered in January.
Established by the bipartisan Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, the Marine Debris Foundation augments the work of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program by supporting domestic and international initiatives that remove, reduce, and prevent marine debris. These include plastics, abandoned fishing gear and vessels, and other materials that threaten aquatic life, human health, navigation, and commerce.
The foundation issued a call for proposals in summer 2023 and received nearly 600 applications from more than 85 countries and territories. After a rigorous review, the foundation selected six projects to fund in it is inaugural funding cycle:
Aleli Environmental
Project location: Puerto Rico
Award: $30,000
Project summary: Marine debris removal and debris assessments at beaches in a protected area in Southwest Puerto Rico. The project aims to better understand marine debris accumulation patterns, reduce and prevent marine debris through behavior change campaign with restaurants/food trucks, and conduct outreach/education activities with local population.
Hawai’i Marine Mammal Alliance
Project location: Hawai’i
Award: $26,215
Project summary: Comprehensive program to prevent/remove recreational fishing gear in the waters surrounding Hawai’i, including deployment of disposal bins, in-water removal and cleanups, assessment, and education.
Save the Bay
Project location: Rhode Island
Award: $6,850
Project summary: Clean up two uninhabited islands in Narragansett Bay, utilizing volunteers.
Story of Stuff
Project location: Various U.S. cities and counties
Award: $30,000
Project summary: The Reuse Cities Project aims to foster adoption of new reuse policies and infrastructure in 30 cities and counties across the U.S. by tapping into the desire of elected officials to be environmental champions as well as the growing movement of local citizen reuse coalitions.
Sungai Watch
Project location: Indonesia
Award: $30,000
Project summary: Install 100 trash barriers in the Bekasi River basin; train 50-60 people to clean the barriers daily; sort and upcycle waste. Estimated impact: 1,500 tons of plastic.
Wildcoast
Project location: US/Mexico border
Award: $30,000
Project summary: Deploy a trash boom in a priority catch basin in the community of Camino Verde. The work will be accompanied by community outreach, monitoring efforts, and waste characterizations for plastics on both sides of the border. This work builds on a highly successful boom deployment that has captured 140,000 pounds of debris in its first two years of operation.