Hong Kong was facing marine waste from Guangdong Province in July 2016 due to rainstorms and floods in the Pearl River Basin. Hong Kong-based NGOs played an important role in responding to this incident. China is now facing tough challenges from marine waste. In 2016，Chinese Mainland-based environmental NGOs contributed significantly to marine waste management by conducting a series of joint actions nationwide. Compared with their Hong Kong-based counterparts，however，these NGOs were established at later times and are very limited in terms of power，with insufficient government support. In order for China to address the issue of marine waste，it is necessary to bring NGOs into full play and enhance government cooperation with those which value marine environmental protection.