An article entitled: “Marine anthropogenic litter on British beaches: A 10-year nationwide assessment using citizen science data” has recently been published by a group of scientists. The data is from Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Beachwatch surveys which have been taking place by volunteers for more than a decade. The main findings from this article are as follows:
- “Plastic is the main constituent of marine anthropogenic litter on British beaches.
- The majority of traceable items originate from land, specifically public littering.
- Clear differences in regional litter abundance were detected.
- Significant increases in some individual litter items, spanning a decade, were identified.
- Citizen science programmes are an effective tool for monitoring marine anthropogenic litter.”
To read and/or download the full article, follow this link.