We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Methods for monitoring urban street litter: a comparison of municipal audits and an app-based citizen science approach
Summary
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.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
The Contribution of Citizen Scientists to the Monitoring of Marine Litter
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
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
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.
Plastic Hotspot Mapping in Urban Water Systems
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.
Determining global distribution of microplastics by combining citizen science and in-depth case studies
This study combined citizen science sampling data with in-depth field studies to build a better global picture of microplastic distribution. The approach shows how large-scale volunteer monitoring can extend spatial coverage far beyond what professional researchers can achieve alone.