Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PlasticPiratesEU (UPSCALING THE PLASTIC PIRATES CITIZEN SCIENCE INITIATIVE)
Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2023-11-30
Environmental pollution by plastic litter is a pervasive, large-scale and international problem. It has been most researched in the marine environment, where it is estimated that around 13 million tons of plastic litter annually end up being washed into the ocean from land. Rivers contribute up to 2.8 million tons annually, and are therefore an important transport route of plastic litter to the marine environment.
While there is already a fair understanding of the origins of plastic litter in a few selected European regions and river systems, research data across Europe so far is largely fragmentary, if existent at all. By applying the citizen science approach to investigate the importance of rivers as pathways to ocean pollution, the ongoing Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! citizen science initiative enables researchers to identify sources of and mitigation measures for plastic pollution.
PlasticPiratesEU focusses on upscaling the successful citizen science initiative “Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!” (www.plastic-pirates.eu) to interested EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. In doing so, the project aims to raise awareness among citizens and, in particular, young citizens, in larger parts of Europe on the impact and benefits that research and innovation can have on their daily lives. It also aims to increase the capacity to collect, organise and verify data on plastic waste pollution stemming from and in European rivers, coastlines and seas. Another objective is to test, replicate and refine best practice models for linking excellent science and citizen engagement.
While there is already a fair understanding of the origins of plastic litter in a few selected European regions and river systems, research data across Europe so far is largely fragmentary, if existent at all. By applying the citizen science approach to investigate the importance of rivers as pathways to ocean pollution, the ongoing Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! citizen science initiative enables researchers to identify sources of and mitigation measures for plastic pollution.
PlasticPiratesEU focusses on upscaling the successful citizen science initiative “Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!” (www.plastic-pirates.eu) to interested EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. In doing so, the project aims to raise awareness among citizens and, in particular, young citizens, in larger parts of Europe on the impact and benefits that research and innovation can have on their daily lives. It also aims to increase the capacity to collect, organise and verify data on plastic waste pollution stemming from and in European rivers, coastlines and seas. Another objective is to test, replicate and refine best practice models for linking excellent science and citizen engagement.
To achieve these objectives, countries in Europe have been mobilised to join the Plastic Pirates - Go Europe! initiative. This was done by identifying local partner organisation and by providing support for a swift take-off of local sampling campaigns. Hundreds of young citizens in multiple European countries are given the opportunity to become a Plastic Pirate and investigate plastic pollution in a nearby river, waterway or coastline. To ensure that the data is analysed and the young scientists are made aware of their contribution to science, (local) research hubs have been identified to verify and analyse the data collected. And in order to learn how to best connect citizen science to excellent science, all of what has been learned from the upscaling of the Plastic Pirates initiative will be documented for future upscaling of similar projects . Meanwhile, networking and capacity building with other EU projects in the field of marine litter is done as well as a dissemination of the results and data findings through presentations at scientific or political conferences (e.g. R&I Days).
Ultimately, all of the above will lead to a significantly increased number of EU citizens that actively engage in the preservation and restoration of oceans and waters through citizen science as well as through an uptake in ocean literacy amongst European young citizens. This will furthermore strengthen public awareness and overcome the emotional disconnect with the ocean and waters. We will also see an uptake and diffusion of new knowledge and Open Science on plastic pollution in oceans, waters and seas via existing European data portals as well as an improved scientific understanding and knowledge to develop systemic solutions for the prevention and elimination of plastic pollution. Moreover, PlasticPiratesEU could contribute to efforts to standardize and harmonise litter sampling methods and resulting data for river plastic pollution.