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Methods for monitoring urban street litter: a comparison of municipal audits and an app-based citizen science approach
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Comparing citizen science litter audits with professional municipal audits, this study found that app-based community monitoring can generate high-quality data on street litter and plastic pollution comparable to formal assessments. Scaling up plastic pollution monitoring through citizen involvement could dramatically expand the geographic coverage and frequency of data collection at low cost.
Non-traditional methods, including citizen (or participatory) science and professional litter audits can provide high quality data for understanding street litter and associated plastic pollution.
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The Contribution of Citizen Scientists to the Monitoring of Marine Litter
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Researchers compared 40 citizen science marine litter monitoring studies with 40 professional science studies, finding that citizen science projects have mainly focused on beach surveys and successfully generated large-scale distribution data, while professional studies have contributed more to composition analysis and ecological impact assessment. The review highlights the complementary strengths of both approaches and the value of citizen participation in long-term litter monitoring.
Citizen Science for Monitoring Plastic Pollution from Source to Sea: A Systematic Review of Methodologies, Best Practices, and Challenges
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This systematic review examines how citizen science programs track plastic pollution from land to sea. The research found that while public participation greatly expands data collection, inconsistent methods and data quality issues limit the scientific usefulness of the results. Better-designed citizen science programs could help communities monitor and respond to the microplastic pollution in their local environments.
Making citizen science count: Best practices and challenges of citizen science projects on plastics in aquatic environments
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This paper reviews best practices and challenges for citizen science projects focused on plastic pollution in aquatic environments, finding that while citizen science can effectively gather large-scale data and raise public awareness, data quality and consistency remain significant challenges.
Monitoring litter and microplastics in a highly polluted protected site of southern Spain: A research-based citizen science initiative
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Researchers combined citizen science monitoring with academic research to track plastic litter and microplastics at a protected but highly polluted site in southern Spain, generating both scientific data and community engagement outcomes. The project demonstrated how structured citizen science can produce research-quality data on plastic pollution while building public awareness.
Plastic Hotspot Mapping in Urban Water Systems
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A simple citizen science method for mapping plastic hotspots in urban waterways was tested in two Dutch cities, finding similar average plastic densities but different spatial distributions. The study highlights the need for long-term monitoring to better understand how cities contribute to plastic pollution in rivers and oceans.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.