Roughly 80 percent of marine pollution originates on land. This is why our mission is to clean up litter in our public lands and work to create a future where littering is unheard of.

Over the years, population growth and economic development have resulted in an increasing number of anthropogenic activities on land and an increase in pollution globally which has contributed to degrading the environment and the related ecosystem services. Land-based pollution originates from different sources, including municipal, industrial and agricultural waste, wastewater and nutrient run-off, and from power generation, heavy industry, automobiles, and others. The impact of this type of pollution is devastating for the oceans. They are then transported through run-off, via rivers or the atmosphere to the marine environment. Overall, it is estimated that 80% of the pollution loads in oceans and coastal waters originate from land-based activities.

Tackling land-based pollution is possible by addressing three many priority source categories: marine litter, nutrient management, and wastewater through global voluntary multi-stakeholder partnerships of governments, intergovernmental agencies, academia, the private sector, and civil society.