Sea Education Association is teaming up with the Falmouth Water Stewards and the NOAA Marine Debris Program to reduce the use of single-use plastic items by engaging students in lessons on marine debris, social science research, and the creation of a local campaign to educate the community and promote behavior change.

Type of Project: Marine Debris Prevention through Education and Outreach Grant

Region: Northeast

Project Dates: August 2016 – July 2018

Who is involved?
Sea Education Association (SEA), an educational organization that leads college exchange semesters partially spent sailing and conducting research at sea, is engaging students in marine debris education and outreach within the local community of Falmouth, Massachusetts. Funded by a NOAA Marine Debris Program Marine Debris Prevention through Education and Outreach grant, SEA students and local partners at the Falmouth Water Stewards (FWS) are creating a local campaign addressing behavior change related to the use of single-use plastics, beginning with a “Skip the Straw” campaign led by a group of local middle school students.

What is the project and why is it important?
Single-use plastics are among the top debris items found during beach cleanups throughout the country. Plastic utensils, straws, bottles, and other products that are designed to be used once and then discarded unfortunately too-often make their way into our marine environment. However, there are several alternatives to using and disposing of these types of products. One approach is to encourage changes in behavior (choosing to use fewer of these items) that could lead to new social norms.

SEA and FWS are working to reduce single-use plastic waste and encourage these behavior changes through student efforts and a local campaign. SEA is incorporating marine debris education into their existing interdisciplinary curricula to engage students from colleges across the country in the marine debris issue. Based on these lessons, research on the subject of behavior change, and work by the local “Skip the Straw” campaign, SEA and FWS are working to create a broader campaign to educate the local community about marine debris and promote behavior change to reduce unnecessary single-use plastics. Students are developing and using communication tools to reach various audiences, such as surveys and scorecards for restaurant owners and managers. They are also working on developing toolkits to expand the campaign regionally and enable similar campaigns to be implemented back in their hometowns. In addition, students are organizing and participating in beach cleanups to raise marine debris awareness.

For more information on this project, check out the Marine Debris Clearinghouse.