Âé¶¹ÒùÔº


A global model to help improve beach cleans and protect marine life

A global model to help improve beach cleans and protect marine life
Summary of the key benefits and challenges of using citizen science for marine litter research and the subsequent recommendations to help advance the approach. Credit: Marine Pollution Bulletin (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.117914

A new paper published in is calling for the scientific community to establish one global model of how to establish a citizen science project to clear litter from beaches, which would help with the usability of the data collected.

Dr. Matthew Peacock, Research Fellow at the School of Health Sciences, says, "As more people worry about pollution in our oceans, citizen science is becoming a popular way for the public to get involved. Volunteers help scientists by collecting litter from and, importantly, turning it into useful data.

"But the full power of public involvement has not yet been reached. Although beach surveys are happening around the world, they often work separately, and there is no common way of doing them that brings their efforts together. To really make a difference, these projects need to collect and catalog waste in a way that is consistent, reliable and easy to repeat, and they must share the data more effectively.

"Bringing together the data collected by across the world into a single, global model would help researchers and policymakers better understand where ocean waste is coming from. This will allow them to create stronger laws and actions to stop pollution at its source."

More information: M. Peacock et al, The future of citizen science for marine litter research: What are the benefits to be realised and the challenges to be overcome?, Marine Pollution Bulletin (2025).

Journal information: Marine Pollution Bulletin

Provided by University of Surrey

Citation: A global model to help improve beach cleans and protect marine life (2025, May 19) retrieved 11 September 2025 from /news/2025-05-global-beach-marine-life.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Seychelles beach cleans demonstrate potential for citizen science to tackle marine litter

0 shares

Feedback to editors