Marine litter monitoring in coastal and offshore area in China was organized by the State Oceanic Administration in 2007. The monitoring focused on floating marine litter on sea surface, beach marine litter and sea-bed marine litter. The parameters in monitoring include count and weight of the litter collected as well as the categories in the litter.

Floating Marine Litter
The monitoring shown that the common types in the floating marine litter are snack containers made from polystyrene, plastic bags and dishware, fishing ropes and nets, etc. The average count of the floating marine litter is 0.29 pieces/100 m², in which the polystyrene is 31%, the plastic 27%. The weight of the floating marine litter is 0.74 g/100 m², in which the wood is 0.20 g/100 m², the rubber 0.14 g/100 m², the plastic 0.13 g/100 m² and the polystyrene 0.10 g/100 m².

Fig.1 Category and Count of Floating Marine Litter in 2007

Beach Marine Litter
The common types in the beach marine litter are cigarette, plastic bags and ropes, fishing materials (nets, ropes and floaters), plastic dishware, cans and glass bottles. The average count of the litter is 0.04 pieces/m², in which the plastic is 34%, the polystyrene 11%, the paper 10%, the wood 6%, glass 8% and cans 5%. The weight of the litter is 0.59 g/m², in which the wood is 0.27 g/m², the plastic 0.24 g/m² and the polystyrene 0.05 g/m².

Fig.2 Category and Count of Beach Litter in 2007