GettingHelp

Lookingforanswersinvolvesmorethanjustcombingthebeachesfortrash.Italsoinvolvestalkingtopeopleinthecommunity.Often,peoplewholivenearthebeachesknow theplasticsbetterthanwedo.Theycanhelpusanswerquestionsaswedobeachcleanups together.

Justbecausethereisplasticonthebeaches,doesn’tmeanthatpeoplewholiveintheareaaretoblame.Onceplasticisintheocean,itcanbemovedallovertheworldbywavesandoceancurrents.That’swhywealsogooutwithfishersontheirboatstofindplasticsstillinthewater.Weuseahomemadenetdevicetosnagplasticsfromthewater.Thenetisdraggedalongsidetheboataswe travel.

JustinetraveledtotheArctictofindoutmoreaboutocean plastics.

UsingtheMarineDebrisTrackerApp,IcanrecordwhattrashIfindandwhereit is.

Withthisappanddatabase,anyoneintheworldwhoisinterestedinlearningaboutourplasticpollutionresearchcanlookupourfindings.And,there’smore.Thisfreeappcanbeusedbyanyone.Even you.

Easy‑to‑usescientifictoolslikethisappareapartofamovementcalledcitizenscience.Itmeansthatanyone—evensomeonewhoisn’ta“scientist”—cangooutandcollectdata,too.So,ifyoufindplasticsononeofyourbeachesorevenonyourlocalsidewalks,youcanaddittothebodyofdataweare collecting.

Bymappingourplasticpollutiontogetheracrossvariousplaces,wecancomeupwithabetterpictureoftheproblemand,hopefully,somesolutionstopreventingfurtherpollutioninour waterways.

MakingaRecord

Aswemakeourmonthlyroundstothebeaches,wearebuildingarecordofwhatwefind.Butwedon’twriteeverythingdowninournotebooks.Instead,weuseourcellphonestoreportwhatwefindonanappcalledMarineDebris Tracker.

Allofourdatagoesintothisdatabase.Puttingourdatainonecentralplacehelpsuskeeptrackofwhatweknowandhelpsustobuildtheplasticsprofileofeachbeach.Italsoallowsustoshareourdata.Andthisisveryimportanttotoday’s scientists.

IkeepcarefulrecordswhenI’mworkinginthe field.

Evenunderamicroscope,it’ssometimeshardtoidentifyplastictrashandwhereitcame from.

MovingForward

Theplasticsproblemfeelsbig,anditis.
Somepeopleassumethatit’sanunsolvableproblem.Whattheydon’trealizeisthatwehavethepowertosignificantlyreduce—ifnoteliminate—this problem.

Itmeanscollectingalotofdata,and
itmeansworkingtogethertocreateandimplementsolutions.Wecanallmakeadifference.Whetherit’scombingthebeaches,recordingandpickingupplasticpollution,orchangingourbehaviors—likenotusingsingle‑useplasticslikestraws,bags,andcontainersinourschoolsandhomes—wecantogetherhelptomakeouroceans cleaner.