Abstract
Marine litter, manufactured solid waste material that enters the marine environment, is a growing environmental concern. Found throughout the oceans, from the poles to the equator and from the shoreline to the deep sea, impacts of this debris on the environment and wildlife is well recorded. For example, rubbish items can have lethal and sub lethal effects on marine dwelling organisms, through processes such as ingestion, entanglement, and chemical contamination from eating those materials. Whilst the research examining the distribution, abundance, and impacts of litter on the environment and its inhabitants is ever growing, it is important to recognise the human dimension of this problem. Humans are unquestionably the source of the problem; optimistically, we are also the solution, but an often overlooked aspect is that we too are also impacted by marine litter. Here, this short article will briefly overview the impact litter has on individuals, the psychological value of doing something about it, and why this is important when trying to address this global and growing issue.