A lot of plastic strapping tape comes from commercial fishing or from shipping. It is used for bait packaging in the fishing industry. Strapping from shipping results from dumping rubbish at sea.

There are also land based sources especially around river and drain outlets near ports and industrial areas.

There are a significant number of colours and sizes of strapping tape as well as several different materials that packing tape is made of. Identifying the source of strapping debris is not a straightforward matter and so some measurements and observations about it are made.

Uncut strapping tape can entangle sea mammals and as they grow the strapping constricts, then injures and eventually kills them. All strapping adds to the plastic load in the ocean.