Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Trash-Free Waters program (TFW) develops tools and strategies to reduce sources of land-based litter (primarily single-use disposables) ending up in our waterways. To create more uniform data collection methods, TFW developed the Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol (ETAP). In 2017, after receiving an award from the EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Program (GMP) to implement a comprehensive strategy to create trash-free waters in the Three Mile Creek (TMC) Watershed, TFW asked the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) to incorporate ETAP into the project. Our team was initially hesitant to pilot a draft protocol, adding another layer to an already complex litter abatement strategy. Almost immediately after ETAP data collection began, the project team realized the added value ETAP provided. Prior to ETAP, MBNEP had no experience discerning litter types and sources and was missing a data pool necessary to promote change. The TMC dataset now represents one of the longest continuous collections of ETAP data in the country. ETAP crystalizes understanding of trash and marine debris by generating both site-specific and watershed-level data to guide effective deployment of limited litter removal resources and target source reduction campaigns. Over time, data trends can be used to build “litter profiles,” which include increases or decreases in the amount of litter, types and volume of material, and patterns or reoccurrence periods. Data reveal information that could be used to better manage limited local and state resources, better educate businesses and the community, and assist decision makers and regulatory agencies instituting tougher penalties or policy change.
