Aussie 'citizen scientists' hunt for microplastics
Hunting for microplastics
Location: Sydney, Australia
These beachgoers have become
citizen scientists
They document and map microplastics
at their local beaches
They hope to use the data to
develop solutions
to map plastic hotspots and
find out how to clean them up
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CITIZEN SCIENTIST SARAH COOK, SAYING:
"You know I love the marine environment. I spend a lot of the time in the ocean, in the local river around here and I find it really disturbing to find plastics out there. You know just walking on the beaches - we need to find a way of preventing it getting there in the first place."
Microplastic pieces are around
5 mm or smaller
Toxic chemicals in plastic can increase the chance of disease
The use of disposable products has contributed to the problem
The results are published on the website AUSMAP