Citizen science data indicate a reduction in beach litter in the Lofoten archipelago in the Norwegian Sea

Haarr, Marthe Larsen; Pantalos, Michael; Hartviksen, Monica Kleffelgård; Gressetvold, Marit

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111000

Cited by 40 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Citizens worldwide are taking action to mitigate plastic pollution 10 – 13 at the same time as an increasing number of policy initiatives are developed to target sources and potential solutions 14 . Large scale plastic sampling campaigns such as “International Coastal Cleanup” and “World Cleanup Day” have had great success in engaging citizens all over the globe to collect litter for a cleaner environment 15 and a Citizen Science project has recently been utilized to analyze plastic pollution in the arctic part of Norway 16 . The European Environmental Agency’s (EEA) “Marine Litter Watch” (MLW) program utilizes Citizen Science projects to inform policy-making, by organizing collection of litter items with a procedure based on the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A nationwide assessment of plastic pollution in the Danish realm using citizen science

Syberg

Palmqvist

Khan

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Plastic pollution is considered one of today’s major environmental problems. Current land-based monitoring programs typically rely on beach litter data and seldom include plastic pollution further inland. We initiated a citizen science project known as the Mass Experiment inviting schools throughout The Danish Realm (Denmark, Greenland and the Faeroe Islands) to collect litter samples of and document plastic pollution in 8 different nature types. In total approximately 57,000 students (6–19 years) collected 374,082 plastic items in 94 out of 98 Danish municipalities over three weeks during fall 2019. The Mass Experiment was the first scientific survey of plastic litter to cover an entire country. Here we show how citizen science, conducted by students, can be used to fill important knowledge gaps in plastic pollution research, increase public awareness, establish large scale clean-up activities and subsequently provide information to political decision-makers aiming for a more sustainable future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A nationwide assessment of plastic pollution in the Danish realm using citizen science

Syberg

Palmqvist

Khan

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Recent studies illustrate a significant positive effects of 'container deposit legislation' on reducing discarded beverage containers 74 , but still many countries have been not implemented any economic incentives to control land-based litter. Additionally, local scale extensive volunteer cleanup action can contribute to decline in litter in the wider environment (especially beverage containers) 75 . Such actions should be regularly repeated at the same sites, supported (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such actions should be regularly repeated at the same sites, supported (e.g. providing gloves and bin bags, payment of litter disposal) and ideally managed by local government or other institutions 75 . Importantly, participation in such actions also has educational value by strengthening good, pro-environmental habits and raising public awareness 76,77 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online media reveals a global problem of discarded containers as deadly traps for animals

Kolenda

Pawlik

Kuśmierek

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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The widespread occurrence of litter is a severe threat to global ecosystems. We have analyzed online media, to assess the diversity of animals that are prone to getting trapped in discarded containers and check which kind of containers is the most common trap for animals. A total of 503 records from around the world (51 countries, 6 continents) have been found. These include invertebrates (17 taxa, ca.1050 dead individuals), and vertebrates (98 taxa, 496 individuals including 44 carcasses). The latter group was most frequently represented by mammals (78.5% of all cases), then reptiles (15.3%), birds (1.2%), fish (1.0%) and amphibians (0.4%). Nearly 12.5% of the determined vertebrates are classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered, according to the IUCN. Although most trapped individuals were smaller animals, bigger ones such as monitor lizards (Varanus spp.) or large carnivores were also recorded. In most cases, animals were trapped in glass or plastic jars (32.4%), drink cans (16.5%), and steel cans (16.3%). Our results demonstrate that discarded containers can be a threat to all major groups of animals. In order to address this phenomenon, it is necessary to decrease a global production of debris, implement container deposit legislation and organize repeatable cleanup actions.

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“…For instance, long-term citizen science datasets in Great Britain revealed no significant change in total debris loads over a 10 year time period, though regional differences in abundance and types of debris were detected (Nelms et al, 2017). In Norway, a general decline in debris was detected from 2011 to 2018 via citizen science beach cleanup data (Haarr et al, 2020). Ribic et al (2010Ribic et al ( , 2012 were able to document regional changes in marine debris loads on beaches along the Atlantic coast from 1997 to 2007, and the Pacific Coast and Hawaii from 1998 to 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, citizen science empowers participants through the creation of a stewardship ethic and the development of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors (Whitelaw et al, 2003;Cooper et al, 2007;Toomey and Domroese, 2013). Though there are some tradeoffs between rigorous, professionally established monitoring programs and volunteer beach cleanup programs (with data collection), an effective monitoring design can alleviate many of these issues (Nelms et al, 2017;Haarr et al, 2020) and longterm monitoring programs can provide insight into spatial and temporal debris. For instance, long-term citizen science datasets in Great Britain revealed no significant change in total debris loads over a 10 year time period, though regional differences in abundance and types of debris were detected (Nelms et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Trends and Potential Drivers of Stranded Marine Debris on Beaches Within Two US National Marine Sanctuaries Using Citizen Science Data

Uhrin

Lippiatt

Herring

et al. 2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Marine debris is a threat to our ocean that can be more effectively addressed through monitoring and assessment of items stranded on shorelines. This study engaged citizen scientists to conduct shoreline marine debris surveys according to a published NOAA protocol within the Greater Farallones and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuaries on the west coast of the United States. Here, we use the results of these multi-year monitoring data to estimate marine debris abundance and temporal trends, and identify drivers of debris loads. Changes in debris counts and composition are shown to reflect seasonal patterns of coastal upwelling and downwelling, but longer temporal trends in overall debris loads depend on the sampling window. Identifying drivers of stranded debris is challenging given the observational nature of the data. A linear increase in total expected debris counts was observed when up to five participants are conducting a survey, suggesting a need to standardize the number of participants and their search pattern for debris in shoreline monitoring efforts. Lastly, we discuss the application of shoreline marine debris data to evaluate the impact of management decisions and identify new targets for mitigation.

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Citizen science data indicate a reduction in beach litter in the Lofoten archipelago in the Norwegian Sea

Cited by 40 publications

References 22 publications

A nationwide assessment of plastic pollution in the Danish realm using citizen science

A nationwide assessment of plastic pollution in the Danish realm using citizen science

Online media reveals a global problem of discarded containers as deadly traps for animals

Temporal Trends and Potential Drivers of Stranded Marine Debris on Beaches Within Two US National Marine Sanctuaries Using Citizen Science Data

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