Marine debris — anything man-made, including litter and fishing gear, that ends up in a waterway, lake, sea or the oceans — has become an increasing problem.

Most of it is plastic — foam carryout containers, bags and bottle caps — that degrades into smaller pieces, or microplastics, that are consumed by and entangle fish and other marine life. It’s a global problem.

To raise awareness and get children thinking about how to keep debris out of the ocean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration holds an annual national Marine Debris Program Art Contest for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

NOAA asks students to illustrate how marine debris affects the oceans and the Great Lakes environment — and what they are doing to help prevent it.

To find marine debris in Hawaii, look no farther than Kailua Beach Park.

If you look closely at where the waves wash up during high tide, you’ll likely find microplastics in shades of blue, white, yellow and red, some smaller than a grain of rice.

Students from Hawaii have been represented in the calendar every year since the art contest began in 2010. Last year two Hawaii students were selected as finalists from more than 600 entries. Third-grader Madison Ige drew an underwater scene of marine animals experiencing an infiltration of litter in their home, while seventh-grader Jacqueline Le sketched a Hawaiian monk seal lying among debris, including a plastic bag, diet cola can and plastic six-pack rings.

Keiki can enter this year’s contest until the end of November.

Artwork must be hand-drawn by the student on a sheet of 8-1/2-by-11-inch white, nonglossy paper, landscape orientation and accompanied by a description of no more than 75 words. Colored pencils, crayons and paint may be used, but no computer graphics, glued pieces or glitter. All entries must be postmarked by Nov. 30.

The first name and last initial of the student, plus grade level, are printed in the calendar.

Entry forms and artwork should be mailed to Marine Debris Art Contest, ATTN: Asma Mahdi / NOAA Marine Debris Program, 1305 East-West Highway, Room No. 10203, SSMC4, 10th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

A NOAA awards panel collects the entries and selects 13 winners and one overall winner based on creativity, artistic presentation and relevance to the theme. The winners from this year’s contest will be featured in the 2017 Marine Debris Calendar.

For information, contact Asma Mahdi at asma.mahdi@noaa.gov or visit MarineDebris.noaa.gov. NOAA has free educational materials on the topic at marinedebris.noaa.gov/educational-materials.

Nina Wu writes about environmental issues. Reach her at 529- 4892 or nwu@staradvertiser.com.