We are asking everyone concerned about wet wipes containing plastic to respond (as an individual) to the Government Consultation. It is open until November 25th.
Here is the link.
Presentations
Presentation for session 1. Click here to view the slides.
Presentation for session 2. Click here to view the slides.
Glossary
Click here to find our glossary. This is a living document and will be updated regularly.
Useful booklets/leaflets
Click on the links to view or download.
From Pollution to Solution: a global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution
UN Environment Programme
Plastic & Climate: the hidden costs of a plastics planet
CIEL and many others
Breaking the Plastic Wave: a comprehensive assessment of pathways towards stopping ocean plastic pollution
Marine Litter brochure from University of Plymouth’s Marine Institute: are there solutions to this global environmental problem?
Plastics, the circular economy and Europe′s environment: a priority for action
European Environment Agency
Survey sheets and guides
Volunteer survey sheet from the Marine Conservation Society
Litter ID Guide from the Marine Conservation Society
Brand audit from the Preventing Plastic Pollution project.
ID guide to categories and polymers for the brand audit.
Nurdle Hunt survey form and ID guide from Fidra.
Apps
Many of the litter apps involve taking a photo on a smartphone and tagging with information about the rubbish you have found.
Marine Debris Tracker: long-standing app from National Geographic.
Open Litter Map: open source data – you can see what others have found around the world.
Litterati: uses the power of crowdsourced data to bud maps highlighting litter hotspots.
Films
The Story of Plastic
From the extraction of fossil fuels and plastic disposal to the global resistance fighting back, The Story of Plastic is a life-changing, Emmy-winning film depicting one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. Strandliners has hosted community screenings in the past. You can watch a trailer here, and you can see an animated short film here.
Trashed
In this older film (2012), Jeremy Irons looks at the effects of the global waste problem, as he travels around the world to find destinations tainted by pollution. The film focuses on waste rather than just plastic, but many of the issues raised are still pertinent today. Some viewers may find parts of the film distressing. You can watch a trailer here.
Cornwall Climate Care Films
Cornwall’s Climate Stories is a series of documentaries highlighting the impacts of climate change already being felt across Cornwall, as well as the fantastic local businesses, researchers and community groups working hard to prepare us for the challenges coming our way. this is a great series of half-hour films, and you can find them all here.
1. Under the surface
2. Plenty more fish?
3. Living on the edge
4. Down the drain
5. Food for thought
6. Hungry for changed (just released to the public)
Water analysis
Note that some of these are older projects that have now finished, but still have some useful guides and information.
Freshwater Habitats Trust – Clean Water for Wildlife project https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/projects/clean-water/
Imperial College London – Opal: Citizen Science for Everyone https://www.imperial.ac.uk/opal/surveys/watersurvey/
Catchment Based Approach
https://catchmentbasedapproach.org/learn/citizen-science-volunteer-monitoring/
Surfers Against Sewage: https://protectingwildwaters.org.uk/the-toolkit/
Rivers Trust: https://theriverstrust.org/our-work/data-evidence
Catchment Monitoring Partnership https://monitoring.catchmentbasedapproach.org/
River Thame Conservation Trust: https://riverthame.wordpress.com/
Environment Agency: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
Simplex Health: https://www.simplexhealth.co.uk/how-to-test-the-quality-of-open-water-for-bathing-or-swimmingis/
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/14/citizen-scientists-to-monitor-english-rivers-in-7m-scheme
West Country Citizen Science Project: https://wrt.org.uk/westcountry-csi/
Sewage Spill Alerts: You can sign up for alerts from Southern Water using their Beachbuoy service here or get the Surfers Against Sewage Safer Seas and Rivers Service app from your usual app store.
Useful websites
Marine Conservation Society – beach survey resources, including survey sheets, example risk assessment etc.
Fidra – The Great Nurdle Hunt (microplastic surveys)
BreakFreeFromPlastic – partnering brand audit surveys
Preventing Plastic Pollution – surveys across river catchments