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First results of citizen science campaign, Plastic Pirates, in Latvia – microplastic pollution in rivers and streams
Summary
Researchers presented the first results from the 'Plastic Pirates - Go Europe!' citizen science initiative in Latvia, where schoolchildren collected data on microplastic and litter pollution in rivers and streams to build knowledge on pollution sources and transport pathways in a data-poor region. The campaign identified dominant plastic types and pollution hotspots in Latvian waterways, demonstrating the value of structured citizen science for expanding monitoring coverage in countries with limited research infrastructure.
Rivers and streams can serve as vectors for litter and microplastic pollution entering the sea. Growing our understanding of the role of this kind of pollution transfer helps to identify pollution types, sources and take decisions on mitigation. In order to help researchers grow the database of knowledge around this topic citizen science campaigns can be a valuable tool. The Europe-wide campaign "Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!" involves schoolchildren to take part in gathering data. There has been little research done on microplastic and litter pollution in rivers and streams in Latvia, however since joining the campaign in Fall 2023 more light has ben shed on the scope of the issue. For the campaign microplastic nets with a mesh size of 1000µm were distributed to 20 schools across the country. Samples were collected for 1 hour in rivers and streams chosen by schoolchildren and water volume of the sample was estimated. In total 19 streams and rivers have been examined and the results show microplastic pollution to be in the range of 0-0.48 particles/m3. The most common size fraction of plastics found in nets were 1- 5mm (78.81 Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/556385/document