The MATERIAL state of COASST marine debris describes the stuff an object is made of. Material properties can tell us about potential environmental impact (including how quickly objects degrade and how easily they are consumed in the marine environment) and source (because material can indicate an object’s relative buoyancy in the water, and the distance it might travel as a result).
COASST has 10 material category ‘bins’ that all marine debris can fit into: Plastic, Glass, Metal, Wood/Bamboo, Paper/Cardboard, Rubber, Cement/Ceramic, Other, Multi, and Unknown.
Generally we classify material with the predominance (or >50%) rule. If an object is made up of at least 50% one material, we lump it in that category.
The photos below should help provide some guidance for those times when the material is clear, but the COASST category isn’t.
Plastic
Plastic is long-lasting (it is not biodegradable) and is COASST’s most common material.
The environmental impact tied to a piece of plastic debris is closely associated with the type of plastic, so we divide our plastic debris into three categories: Hard, Foam and Soft.
Hard Plastic: Hard plastic isn’t very flexible – if bent it either breaks into pieces or assumes its previous shape when pressure is lifted. Containers fall into this category because they are rigid items that can trap and transport animals. Common examples of Hard Plastic include water bottles, mooring buoys, drink cups, buckets, and nurdles.
This is a WHOLE beverage bottle, material HARD PLASTIC, and is a CONTAINER with zero openings This is a WHOLE beverage cup, material is HARD PLASTIC and is a CONTAINER with 1 opening This is WHOLE brush and material is HARD PLASTIC This is a WHOLE bucket, material HARD PLASTIC, is a CONTAINER with zero openings, and is 75% BIOFOUL This is a WHOLE buoy, majority of material is HARD PLASTIC and comment that there is a chain, is a CONTAINER with zero openings, and chains are not floppy/loopy so we wouldn’t record these as loops This is a WHOLE lawn chair and material HARD PLASTIC, the gaps in plastic are NEITHER loops nor sides of a container These are FRAGMENTS of HARD PLASTIC, since they are all white and are similar sizes they would be tallied together These are WHOLE nurdles which are made of HARD PLASTIC This is a WHOLE bag clip and material is HARD PLASTIC
Foam plastic: Foam goes by many names, including polystyrene, insulation, and styrofoam. Foam easily fragments – and may be classified as crumbly as it ages – resulting in many small pieces scattered throughout the wrack or wood zones. Foam can also harbor smell, which may be why we often see beak marks in it where birds have attempted to find their next meal.
This is a FRAGMENT of a beverage cup and material is FOAM PLSTIC This is a WHOLE buoy, material FOAM PLASTIC, HIGH weathering and BEAK MARKS This is a WHOLE tire float and the majority of the item is FOAM PLASTIC This a WHOLE buoy with a majority material of FOAM PLASTIC This is a FRAGMENT of a large float used for dock floatation, FOAM PLASTIC and has BEAK MARKS These are both examples of FOAM PLASTIC but will not be tallied together, the white piece is a FRAGMENT while the flip-flop is WHOLE and also has 2 floppy loops The 2 larger items in this picture are both WHOLE floats made of FOAM PLASTIC. They wouldn’t be tallied together because the top left has 25% BIOFOUL while the other does not This is a WHOLE packing peanut made of FOAM PLASTIC
Soft Plastic: Soft plastic is very flexible, and doesn’t hold its shape without support. Think of food wrappers, shopping bags, plastic film, and ropes. There are many specific names for these materials, including nylon, polypropylene, and mylar, as well as the materials that make synthetic clothing like fleece and spandex. Soft plastic characterized as floppy/loopy is an entanglement risk.
Yellow rope is a common aquaculture bi-product, rope is by default a PART and this is a FLOPPY, possible entanglement risk This is a FRAGMENT of a bubble wrap sheet and is SOFT PLASTIC This is a FRAGMENT of caution tape, which is SOFT PLASTIC Rope is by default a PART and this is a FLOPPY, LOOPY entanglement risk This is a WHOLE balloon that is made of SOFT PLASTIC, the ribbon when stretched out would make this a large debris item Cigarette butt filters are made of SOFT PLASTIC and examples of FRAGMENTS This is a WHOLE wrapper, made of SOFT PLASTIC and the brand is Lay’s This is a WHOLE grocery bag made of SOFT PLASTIC This tarp is a FRAGMENT as we can see lots of ripped sides, material is SOFT PLASTIC and is FLOPPY This is a WHOLE glove and is SOFT PLASTIC This is a WHOLE packing band that is FLOPPY and LOOPY, the pick ribbon is a FRAGMENT and FLOPPY
Glass:
Often found as bottles or broken fragments, this material can be sharp (hazardous to wildlife and humans) if recently broken.
These are GLASS FRAGMENTS of bottles, weathering is LOW so they are most likely SHARP, because they are different colors these wouldn’t be tallied separately by color This is a GLASS beverage bottle, it is a PART since a lid would make it WHOLE, and an example of a CONTAINER with one opening This is a light bulb that has a majority of GLASS
Metal:
Metal makes up rigid materials, and when new is often shiny. Rusting and fragmented metal can be very sharp (hazardous to marine animals and humans).
METAL can, this is an example of SHINY, and a CONTAINER with one opening This unknown item is made of METAL and is a FRAGMENT, the metal is highly weathered and rusted Car part that is rusted METAL this is classified as a PART This is a FRAGMENT of corrugated siding, made from METAL and SHARP This is a METAL chain, these are not characterized as loops because they are not floppy/loopy
Wood/Bamboo:
Wood is the material most commonly reported for dimensional lumber on large debris surveys, but it can also make up furniture or small objects like chopsticks.
Reminder – firewood and driftwood do NOT count as marine debris. Though they are made of woody materials, those pieces of wood are not crafted or heavily modified by human hands.
This is a banister pole for stairs this is a PART and is made of WOOD This is an unknown item made of WOOD that is a FRAGMENT This is a ladder that is WHOLE and made of WOOD Item ID is lumber, made of WOOD and is WHOLE This can be identified as a WHOLE and made of mostly WOOD, in the comments record that there are bolts but metal is not a majority
Paper/Cardboard:
These materials are often thin, floppy and at least partially biodegradable in the marine environment. We don’t see a lot of paper products reported because they degrade rapidly or blow away!
Rubber:
This material may be often seen in tires, bumpers, balls and rubber bands. The texture is elastic and bouncy!
Cement/Ceramic:
The cement/ceramic category includes brick, conglomerate, and pottery – items that are non-metallic and stone-like after they are formed and dried or baked.
These brick FRAGMENTS won’t all be tallied together because they are different colors and have different percent coverage of BIOFOUL, but they are all CONCRETE/CERAMIC This FRAGMENT of a porcelain plate is CERAMIC These 3 bricks can be tallied together These talliable FRAGMENTS of conglomerate are examples of CONCRETE/CERAMIC Large erosion barrier is a part of the beach so this doesn’t count as marine debris but this is CONCRETE Tile FRAGMENT is CERAMIC
Other:
This state contains items that don’t fit into one of the above categories, but are a known/identifiable material, including non-synthetic cotton or wool clothing. When you mark ‘other’ material, you can also use the comment section to specify the type!
Multi:
Sometimes an object is made up of many parts, and no single material makes up the majority. When that happens, you can select Multi and make sure to list the material categories that are present in the comments.
Unknown:
Sometimes a material is unrecognizable, or unfamiliar. Mark Unknown in this case, and put any guesses or details in the comments! (Did it have a smell? Was it rigid?)
Have you found a mystery material? Send an email with photos to COASST for review and second opinions. We will add images to this post as new examples pop up in the dataset!