Plastic patrol: citizen scientists tracking litter in Australian waterways

Volunteer citizen scientists are collecting and measuring plastic litter in Australian waterways, from synthetic turf in Melbourne to remote beach clean-ups in Arnhem Land, and national projects such as Ausmap have engaged over 10,000 people.

Volunteer citizen scientists are collecting and measuring plastic litter across Australian waterways. In Melbourne, Neil Blake has weighed synthetic turf fragments collected from a stormwater gutter near Darebin Creek and has made 56 collections over three years. The Port Phillip EcoCentre in St Kilda runs a community science lab that provides scales, microscopes and access to trained scientists. In remote Arnhem Land, Sea Shepherd Australia and local Gumurr Marthakal rangers conducted a beach clean-up at Australia Bay and reported heavy accumulations of plastic and abandoned fishing gear. Key facts: - Neil Blake has conducted 56 collections of synthetic turf fragments near KP Hardiman Reserve and uses the EcoCentre lab to weigh and record samples. - A New South Wales review reported one synthetic turf field could transport between 10kg and 100kg of plastic fragments into stormwater systems or local waterways. - Australians produce more than 3 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, and Clean Up's annual survey reports plastics make up more than 80% of litter in parks, beaches, creeks and other public spaces. - Sea Shepherd and Gumurr Marthakal rangers reported decades of plastic pollution and ghost nets at Australia Bay, and teams provide data to the CSIRO from remote clean-ups. - The Australian Microplastics Assessment Project (Ausmap) has engaged more than 10,000 people and collected over 1,200 samples nationally, identifying more than 60 hotspots. - The Port Phillip EcoCentre's community science lab offers equipment, safety gear and expert advice, and is running sessions on investigating local plastic contamination. Summary: Community-led sampling and clean-ups are producing measurable data that can be shared with councils, environmental authorities and research bodies. National projects such as Ausmap are building larger-scale datasets while local groups and labs document specific sources like synthetic turf and ghost nets. Clean Up Australia day is scheduled for 1 March and the Australian Citizen Science Association maintains a project finder for other opportunities.