The plastic soup: Sea creatures have their stomachs full of it and so do we. We consume about one credit card of plastic per week. The ingredients of the plastic soup come from us: (open) garbage bags next to the container, menus from the restaurant terraces, confetti and cups from parties near the canal, and plastic bags from the market.
How much of this plastic actually flows through our canals and rivers and how much of it reaches the sea? Research it as a Plastic Spotter together with other scientists! This way we learn more about the transport of plastic in the water and we can prevent it from reaching the sea and contributing to the plastic soup.
In 2019, Leiden University celebrates its 444th anniversary, together with the inhabitants of Leiden and The Hague where the university is located. That is why we began citizen science research in which the public and scientists together generate new knowledge. At the beginning of 2019, the Citizen Science Lab asked what do you want to research together with the university? More than 50 questions and proposals came in and Plastic Spotter is one of the research projects that was realised thanks to the support of existing citizens' initiatives, Leiden University, the municipality of Leiden and many other partners.
Download the CrowdWater app and register.
View a canal or river, preferably from a bridge, and add your measurement location to the app.
Take a picture of the water and indicate if the water flows, which part of the canal or river you have seen and how much plastic you see. To get a good idea of the distribution of plastic at this location, add a measurement to the same location every few days.
We're not just going to watch the plastic flowing into the sea. We also want to clean-up the mess. With a new canoe fleet, volunteers will be able to go on the water in Leiden again in April to make it plastic-free. Together we will clean our water! Support the clean-up actions with a contribution.
Join also a canoeing session to examine the plastic waste in more detail and to clean up the canals
Go Canoeing!
What is typically found in the Leiden canals during the canoeing sessions? We sorted the whole yield of 21 December 2019 and made pictures. Based on dozens of sessions it's safe to say the overview is representative of what kinds of litter we collect during other rounds through the city centre.
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The data we collect together gives us a good picture of where the plastic waste ends up in the canal. Not only do we want to monitor how this is transported through the water, but we also want to remove it. That's why you can now donate for a new canoe fleet!
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Help us spot and clean up the plastic in the canals of Leiden! Leiden University is calling on the good folk of Leiden to help our researchers study the plastic in the city’s canals. And if you’d like our canals to be plastic-free, why not donate for a fleet of canoes to clean them up?
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Need some help? Tips or questions? Please let us know by e-mail via info@citscilab.nl.
