#PlasticPatrol: the #CitizenScientists tackling #litter in #Australian #waterways

#Plastics make up the majority of litter across the country. In the absence of regulation, the public are taking matters into their own hands

by James Norman, Fri 30 Jan 2026

"Neil Blake weighs a paper bag of fake grass fragments he has collected from a stormwater gutter near #DarebinCreek in #Melbourne’s north.

"Over the past three years Blake has conducted 56 collections of synthetic turf in the waterway alongside the KP Hardiman Reserve hockey pitch.

" 'I noticed that a local hockey pitch was being replaced and the plastic surface was running off into the local environment,' he says. Strong northerly winds and #LeafBlowers had helped shed the turf fragments into the local #environment.

"In addition to impacts on #AquaticEcosystems, scientific analysis suggests #PlasticPollution is exacerbating #ClimateChange, #biodiversity loss and #OceanAcidification.

"Australians produce more than 3m tonnes of plastic waste each year, and according to Clean Up’s annual survey of parks, beaches, creeks and other public spaces, plastics make up more than 80% of litter across the country. A review by the New South Wales chief scientist found that one #SyntheticTurf field could transport between 10kg and 100kg of plastic fragments into the #stormwater system or local waterways.

"Blake has taken advantage of the electronic scales provided by the newly opened community science laboratory in the Port Phillip #EcoCentre in #StKilda, to quantify his samples to present to the local council and the Environment Protection Authority. The lab hosts facilities including microscopes, measuring equipment, safety gear and access to advice from trained scientists.

"It’s one example of citizen scientists tackling the growing problem of plastics in #waterways, including #beaches, #rivers and dive sites around the country."

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/31/australia-litter-picking-beaches-waterways-plastic-pollution

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/okVtk

#SolarPunkSunday #LitterCleanup #NewSouthWales #Australia #PlasticTurf #PlasticPollution #CitizenScience #WaterIsLife #Astroturf #PlasticPollution #Microplastics

I'm positively impressed at how some of the storm water management areas get to be designed for multiple purposes, including water management, but also trails for waking and wildlife habitat.

This is Meadowbrook Pond, in Seattle. In a short time there we saw two types of ducks, a heron, Canadian geese (some fighting for territory), a kingfisher, a few crows and an eagle. A small oasis in the city.

#StormWater #pnw #Seattle