Donate today and save our ocean's future!

Join us
Become a member
Litter and pollution in the sea Mranaked

Marine Litter

2 minute read

Litter in our seas can cause harm to all forms of animals, from tiny plankton to giant whales. These resources will help students explore the impacts of litter on marine life.

Getting started

Be sure to read our getting started guide first. The guide tells you how our lessons have been designed to be used, and gives you a breakdown of the features included in each one.

1. How clean are our seas?

This lesson gives an overview of the litter in our seas, exploring how marine litter is a global issue and some of the ways animals can be impacted by it.

Fish and plastic pollution in the sea Rich Carey

Credit: Rich Carey via Shutterstock

1. How clean are our seas? (ages 7-11) Lesson plan

2. Source to sea

Explore how your local area connects to the ocean and how litter travels from sources on land to the sea.

Children litter picking during Great British Beach Clean 2020 Kate Whitton

Credit: Kate Whitton

2. Source to sea (ages 7-11) Lesson plan

3. The plastic problem

Sort commonly-found litter items into groups by their materials and properties, explore degradation times of various litter items, and consider the effect they could have on the environment. 

Beach litter Hayle Mar 2015

Credit: Natasha Ewins

3. The plastic problem (ages 7-11) Lesson plan

4. Community clean-up

In this lesson, your pupils will head out on a litter pick in your local area. 80% of the litter on our beaches comes from inland sources, which means we can all have an impact on reducing marine pollution no matter where we live.

Children litter picking during the Great British Beach Clean on Rottingdean Beach 2020 Billy Barraclough

Credit: Billy Barraclough

4. Community clean-up (ages 7-11) Lesson plan
Source to Sea risk assessment

5. Artivism

Learn how artists have used their work to raise awareness of environmental issues, and generate your own campaign around marine litter at school or in your local community. Use the presentation below to explore some examples of ocean artivism.

wallace the wet wipe monster (unsure of credit though)
5. Artivism (ages 7-11) Lesson plan
Artivism presentation

6. Unflushables

This lesson focuses on how wet wipes and other harmful 'unflushable' items find their way to our seas.

Pupils will carry out an experiment focusing on materials and their properties, and create a campaign for change based on what they've learnt.

Wet wipe on Hayle Beach Cornwall Natasha Ewins

Credit: Natasha Ewins

6. Unflushables (ages 7-11) Lesson plan

7. Microfibres

Learn how microfibres released from clothes when they're washed affects marine animals.

Students will conduct an investigation into this little known form of microplastic pollution to observe its impacts. The session is full of creative ideas to engage your students with the topic of fast fashion, including learning how to mend clothes and running a second-hand fashion show.

7. Microfibres (ages 7-11) Lesson plan

Extra resources

Download a copy of the extra resources included in the lesson plans here:

More ways to get involved...

Our campaigns