We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Citizen Science in Plastic Remediation: Strategies, Applications, and Technologies for Community Engagement
ClearCitizen 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.
Citizen science in environmental and ecological sciences
This review describes how citizen science, where non-professional volunteers help collect data, is being applied in environmental and ecological research. Citizen science projects have contributed to monitoring pollution, biodiversity, and water quality across large geographic areas. The approach is relevant to microplastic research because trained volunteers can help sample and catalog microplastic contamination across many locations that professional scientists cannot cover alone.
Microplastic Pollution Projects and Participatory Science
This paper discusses citizen science and participatory science projects for monitoring microplastic pollution, reviewing methodological approaches, data quality considerations, and the potential for large-scale pollution mapping through public engagement.
Citizen science: A way forward in tackling the plastic pollution crisis during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers called for expanded citizen science participation in plastic pollution monitoring during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that pandemic-related disruptions to formal research programs created critical data gaps that community data collection could help fill for globally informed mitigation strategies.
Volunteer microplastic sampling in Puget Sound: strategies for broad inclusion, education, and research
This paper describes a volunteer microplastic sampling program in Puget Sound, Washington, examining strategies for community participation and data quality in citizen science monitoring of marine plastic pollution. The program demonstrates how broad public involvement can generate spatially extensive environmental data at low cost.
Global Strategies/Policies and Citizen Science for Microplastic Management
This chapter explores the role of global strategies, policies, and citizen science in managing microplastic pollution. Researchers reviewed current international policy efforts and found that many face challenges including ineffective enforcement and lack of measurable regulatory impact. The study emphasizes that citizen science initiatives can play a valuable role in monitoring microplastic contamination and supporting evidence-based policy development.
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.
Citizen-Science for the Future: Advisory Case Studies From Around the Globe
This paper presents case studies of citizen science projects contributing ocean observation data, showing that non-professional volunteers can meaningfully supplement scientific monitoring. Citizen science approaches are increasingly used to monitor microplastic pollution across coastlines and waterways globally.
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.
Citizen Science and Data Integration for Understanding Marine Litter
This paper reviews how citizen science and data integration can improve understanding of marine litter distribution and environmental impacts, filling data gaps that professional research cannot cover at ocean scale. Community-based monitoring has proven especially valuable for tracking how plastic debris moves along coastlines and accumulates in specific areas.
Advancing Citizen Science for Coastal and Ocean Research
This position paper promotes citizen science as a powerful tool for marine research, especially for the large-scale data collection needed to monitor ocean pollution including microplastics. Citizen science programs have already contributed significant data on plastic debris distribution in coastal and offshore waters.
The potential contribution of citizen science data in the study of coastal microplastic and mesoplastic distributions
Researchers analyzed citizen science data from the Big Microplastic Survey to assess the potential contribution of volunteer-collected observations to understanding coastal microplastic and mesoplastic distribution patterns, evaluating data quality and spatial coverage relative to conventional scientific monitoring.
Methods for monitoring urban street litter: a comparison of municipal audits and an app-based citizen science approach
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.
Citizen Science for Assessment of Microplastics on Beaches: A Case Study in Mexico
Researchers used a citizen science approach involving 26 volunteers to assess microplastic abundance and type on Mexican beaches, providing broad geographic coverage at lower cost than traditional monitoring. Participants used standardized materials and training to collect and identify microplastics, generating a representative database that also raised public awareness of coastal plastic pollution.
Community Science-informed Local Policy: a Case Study in Pinole Creek Litter Assessment
This community science project assessed trash pollution in Pinole Creek, California, using volunteer data collection to support local policy changes. The findings are relevant to microplastic concerns because urban creek litter is a significant source of plastic debris that fragments into microplastics, eventually contaminating the water systems that communities depend on.
Governance Strategies for Mitigating Microplastic Pollution in the Marine Environment: A Review
This review assessed the sources, spread, and impacts of microplastic pollution in marine environments and evaluated existing governance strategies for addressing the problem. Researchers found significant gaps in management approaches, including limited community involvement in monitoring and a lack of standardized mitigation strategies for coastal areas. The study calls for stronger policy interventions, more citizen science initiatives, and coordinated international efforts to reduce microplastic pollution in the oceans.
A new deal between Science and Society through Citizen Science: the case study of sea-surface microplastics research
Researchers explored the role of citizen science in sea-surface microplastic monitoring, arguing it can help bridge the trust gap between scientific institutions and the public. The study used a Mediterranean microplastics monitoring program as a case study showing how citizen participation improved data coverage and community engagement.
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.
The sampling and analysis of coastal microplastic and mesoplastic: Development of a citizen science approach
This study designed, developed, and tested a citizen science approach to microplastic and mesoplastic data collection on coastal beaches to address scale and coverage limitations of traditional research methods. Results showed non-expert participants could collect comparable data to researchers, expanding monitoring capacity across undersampled coastlines.
Citizen Science Project's Contribution to Science Learning Outcome: Systematic Literature Review
This systematic review identified 19 types of citizen science projects that contribute to science learning at school and university levels, finding that six key learning outcomes are most commonly achieved, including content knowledge and scientific inquiry skills. This study is not related to microplastics but was included due to its systematic review methodology.
Community Science-informed Local Policy: a Case Study in Pinole Creek Litter Assessment
This community science study assessed trash and litter in Pinole Creek, California, to inform local pollution-reduction policies. The research is relevant to microplastic concerns because much of the litter found in urban waterways breaks down into microplastics over time, and community-level monitoring helps identify local sources of plastic pollution that affect water quality.
Citizen Science Protocol for beach plastic monitoring using aerial drones
Researchers developed a citizen science protocol using aerial drones to monitor plastic pollution on beaches. The study outlines methods for engaging community volunteers in systematic beach surveys, aiming to improve the scale and frequency of plastic pollution data collection for environmental monitoring and policy development.
Accuracy of a Simple Microplastics Investigation Method on Sandy Beaches
This study tested a simplified citizen science method for monitoring microplastic pollution on sandy beaches, evaluating its accuracy compared to standard research methods. Reliable citizen science approaches could dramatically expand the geographic coverage of microplastic monitoring beyond what professional researchers alone can achieve.
Citizen Observation of Plastic Pollution in African Coastal Ecosystems to Address Data Gaps in Marine Litter Distribution
Researchers engaged citizen science networks in West Africa to collect data on plastic pollution in coastal ecosystems, addressing major gaps in marine litter distribution data for the region. Community-collected observations documented high plastic loads in Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Senegalese coastal sites, demonstrating that citizen science can effectively fill monitoring gaps in data-scarce regions.