Try out CLEAN Beach sampling kits!

Citizen science sampling kits for collecting beach sand microplastics are now available! Beach goers can now access a kit on Vakarbuļļi beach in Latvia and become become a part of microplastic research helping scientists better understand the pollution of the Baltic Sea coast. A large-format information poster about the project has been installed, where you can learn more about microplastics, their impact on the environment and how everyone can get involved in the research. A research kit containing instruction and tools for marking a sampling area, digging sand and sieving the contents can now be borrowed for independent microplastic research.

When visiting Vakarbuļļi beach visit the poster and head to the lifeguard station to receive the materials. If you plan to spend a day at the beach, take the opportunity not only to relax, but also make a valuable contribution to science. Each sample collected helps increase knowledge about the distribution of microplastics and contributes to the collection of data for long-term research. Take photos of your findings and report them on the ROSGIS platform!

We won’t stop there – very soon it will be possible to study microplastic pollution using the sampling kit at Liepāja beach. Try it out and if you would like your coastal municipality to get involved in microplastic monitoring activities, contact us or invite your municipality to join the CLEAN Beach initiative. The more people get involved in data collection, the better we can understand and target plastic pollution reduction in the Baltic Sea.

Sampling kits will also be available in Estonia and Finland – more information to follow soon!