Litter Intelligence unites efforts to tackle plastic pollution

Litter data programme unites efforts to tackle plastic pollution

Media release: 11 August 2023

On 29 July 2018, members of community group Plastic Bag Free Tairāwhiti and New Zealand charity Sustainable Coastlines measured out a 100 metre by 20 metre stretch of Gisborne’s Waikanae Beach, collected all the litter in the area, categorised it, and recorded the data. This was the very first survey for Litter Intelligence, Sustainable Coastlines’ national beach litter monitoring programme.

Five years on, and the charity is celebrating the programme’s success so far with a Litter Intelligence showcase at Little Shoal Bay in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, attended by Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking.

Supported by Ministry for the Environment, Stats NZ, and the Department of Conservation, Sustainable Coastlines developed Litter Intelligence to address two gaps: one being the lack of coastal and marine litter data, which is needed to inform action; the other being the gap between communities who care about the problem and the policymakers who have the power to take meaningful steps to address it.

So far, everything points to Litter Intelligence delivering on what it was designed to do. Trained Litter Intelligence citizen scientists include school children, teachers, work groups, mana whenua, community groups, and government and council employees. Together, they have volunteered more than 23,000 hours, providing data from more than 1,900 individual surveys across 460 survey sites.

Minister Brooking and others collecting litter during the survey.

This significant data set is freely available at insights.litterintelligence.org and, because the data is collected to the highest standards of scientific rigour, it has been used by the government to help to inform reports and even policy. In 2019, when a snapshot of the programme’s findings was featured in Our Marine Environment 2019, it was the first time that data collected by citizens was included in any New Zealand government report at this level.

“By engaging communities in the science that informs our understanding of the problem, we can better engage them in the solutions. We’re really keen to celebrate five years of community effort and the significant outcomes that they have contributed to,” says Sustainable Coastlines engagement director, Ben Knight.

Litter Intelligence data can tell us things such as litter density, where our litter hotspots are, and litter composition. This allows policymakers to understand things such as how much of a problem plastic is on our coastlines. The data contributes to Stats NZ’s wellbeing indicators and featured in Our Marine Environment 2022. It has also had an influence on policy, with its inclusion in the documents that informed the government’s phase-out of problem plastic.

Citizen scientists categorising litter during the audit.

For citizen scientists that take part in the programme, such as Anne Taylor who monitors the Steeple Rock and Breaker Bay sites in Wellington Harbour with her group, being able to contribute at that level is meaningful.

“I feel positive about my impact as a citizen scientist because collecting data is going to lead to real change beyond a simple beach clean-up. With data from groups like ours around the country, it has the power to change things at an industry or policy level. When I feel despairing about the state of our oceans and environment, I remember that even small things can make a difference.”

Local MP Shanan Halbert and Minister Brooking take part in the litter audit.

The dedication of citizen scientists is just one indicator of the growing concerns over plastic pollution, as ‘ocean plastics’ join ‘build-up of plastic in the environment’ in New Zealanders’ top 10 concerns. The government is taking note: its recently announced waste strategy has a vision of a low-emissions, low-waste Aotearoa built upon a circular economy by 2050.

Sustainable Coastlines’ goal to see 60% less litter on the coastlines of Aotearoa by 2030 means that the charity will be building on its success to engage community groups and decision makers in both litter data collection and using that data to take meaningful action, as Sustainable Coastlines CEO Josh Borthwick notes.

“In five years, we’ve seen Litter Intelligence help to inform government reports and policy, and having the Associate Environment Minister along today is a great reflection of the programme’s influence. We’ve also seen a multitude of solutions taken by schools, community groups, and businesses.”

Borthwick continues, “This momentum we’re seeing gives us hope that our national efforts will combine with international efforts to tackle plastic pollution. Data will play a big part in providing the insight needed to deliver on our ambitions.”

Back in 2021, in a move that rang true with the team at Sustainable Coastlines, organisers of World Ocean Day decided to drop the ‘S’ from ‘oceans’. The reason? While we have named ‘oceans’ according to location, they are, in fact, all connected. This means that our actions to protect it are taken as part of a global community, acknowledging a shared climate and a shared future.

With the celebration coming around soon, on 8 June, we’re again reflecting on this, and what it means for us as a local charity working on the global problem of litter and plastic pollution. Tackling it here in Aotearoa New Zealand has implications beyond our shores. It’s true that if we clean up our act at home there will be less plastic flowing to the global ‘pool’ of ocean plastic. But more than that, homegrown solutions have the potential to build on positive change overseas, and we are privileged to have been invited to share the Litter Intelligence programme with communities in the Pacific.

For the last couple of years, we’ve collaborated with the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, also known as SPREP, delivering online Litter Intelligence training to enable communities to run litter surveys in Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Tonga. Based on the success of the initial pilot, the French Development Agency has provided funding to deliver in-person workshops, which will enable community groups, as well as local and central government staff, to run Litter Intelligence surveys and audits.

“The Litter Intelligence programme has great international standing and is seen as a best-practice tool for community engagement in litter monitoring and waste reduction action. We feel honoured to be invited to deliver training to community groups and government agencies across the Pacific,” says Sustainable Coastlines CEO Josh Borthwick.

Citizen scientists sweep the beach for litter, University of South Pacific foreshore, Suva, Fiji.

Waste, plastic pollution in particular, poses a significant threat to Pacific Island nations, impacting food security, livelihoods, and the health of ecosystems themselves. Setoa Apo, the principal waste management officer of Samoa’s Environment Ministry, notes the role that litter data has to play in solving these problems.

“Plastic pollution — marine pollution — is a fast-emerging environmental issue right now. That’s why we are trying to collect whatever is on the coast here at Vaiusu so that we can audit it, and then give the information to the community and share it with the regions,” says Apo.

So far, Sustainable Coastlines staff have had the privilege of running workshops in the Solomon Islands and Fiji, and have plans to do the same in Vanuatu, Samoa, and Tonga in June and July this year.

While the litter data returned from some of the initial surveys in the Solomons and Fiji show a high litter density, Sustainable Coastlines’ data and insights analyst, Carla Fonseca-Paris notes that we can’t draw conclusions about the nature of the litter problem there until we have a number of repeat surveys and a wider distribution of sites.

“We don’t know how long it took for the litter from the first survey to accumulate there. In three months, when the community undertakes another survey, we’ll have information around what’s accumulated at the beach in that period. Subsequent surveys will provide more data, allowing us to analyse litter accumulation rates, which will help paint a picture of the litter problem.”

Citizen scientists measure out the survey area, Solomon Islands.

Caitlyn Prince, one of Sustainable Coastlines’ engagement facilitators, helped to coordinate the workshops in Fiji. She was struck by the contrast between Fiji’s beautiful environment and the litter present.

“The amount of plastic pollution finding its way to the coastline of Viti Levu [Fiji’s main island] and surrounding islands is an issue that needs action,” says Caitlyn.

“I expect it’s a similar story all across the globe, so it’s really encouraging to work alongside people who are working towards solutions.”

Community members at the new survey site, Solomon Islands.

On our visits to both the Solomon Islands and Fiji, the Sustainable Coastlines team observed that much of the litter looked to be related to drinks packaging, and the first surveys appear to back this up. In Fiji, the results from two surveys show that aluminium cans made up 4.5% of the total litter collected, with bottles under two litres making up 1.9%. Drinks packaging also looks to be a large contributor to the litter present in the Solomon Islands survey sites. The seven surveys completed showed that aluminium cans made up 12% of all litter collected, and bottles under two litres, 23%.

As mentioned, more data is needed for a full understanding of the litter affecting these coastlines and where it’s coming from. But once communities have a statistically significant number of surveys under their belts, data like this could potentially point policymakers to focus on things like safe and accessible drinking water, for both human health and the health of the environment, alongside other infrastructure measures they might consider to tackle the waste problems.

Litter being categorised by citizen scientists, Suva, Fiji.

Marine litter is a complex, global problem. While some litter is mismanaged waste that leaks to the ocean, ocean currents also convey litter to coastlines, with different accumulations depending purely on where the coastline is situated.

Overall, the workshops undertaken so far in the Pacific are a cause for optimism about the future of waste and community-led action in the Pacific. Ben Knight, our community engagement director, ran some of the Solomons workshops and noted that there were already plenty of local groups formed to combat litter and plastic pollution, such as Plasticwise Gizo.

“There was also a lot of support for the idea of measuring the problem in order to influence decision-making around solutions,” noted Ben. “This is the idea behind Litter Intelligence, so it’s great to be able to support these communities with training and a platform with which to do this.”

Caitlyn (right), celebrating the survey effort with members of the Pacific Ocean Litter Youth Project.

Similarly, Caitlyn was inspired by the strength and motivation she encountered in local groups in Fiji, particularly Suzanne from the Pacific Ocean Litter Youth Project and Andrew Paris from Blue Prosperity Fiji. “I came away with gratitude and motivation to be as dedicated and compassionate as they are in the fight against plastic pollution.”

Caitlyn’s main takeaway from her experience in Fiji is a great reminder for all of us who love the ocean and want to protect it.

“All of our small actions are a part of a global movement to halt plastic consumption and pollution. There are so many people showing up to positively influence our future, and meeting some of them affirmed for me why it’s so important to keep doing whatever we can to add to this global movement.”

A year to the day after it was announced, the government announced the deferral of the Container Return Scheme (CRS). Josh Borthwick, CEO of charity Sustainable Coastlines, says this news is disappointing given the huge public support for the programme and the potential it has to change the way we think about and deal with waste in Aotearoa.

In March 2022, the government announced the CRS as part of a proposal to overhaul current recycling and waste management, which also included standardising recycling across Aotearoa and food waste collections for business.

At the time, Sustainable Coastlines reported that 7.7% of litter items surveyed through their litter database, Litter Intelligence, were related to the items proposed in the deposit scheme.

A fizzy-drink bottle in a pile of collected litter at a Sustainable Coastlines clean-up

“That’s a pretty significant proportion,” says Borthwick. “That percentage is all room for improvement, and the government’s container return scheme is well-positioned to address it. We saw this as a big win for our environment.”

Litter on our coastlines does not just result from people littering and items washing up on the beach, but as Borthwick explains, is often a result of ‘leakage’.

“This is when rubbish escapes our bins due to wind or during collection, and makes its way down stormwater drains to our coastlines. Well-intentioned recyclers like you and me still end up polluting our beaches. A well-designed return scheme would significantly reduce the litter reaching our environment, as well as incentivising people to pick up containers when they find them in the environment.”

Litter data being recorded on the remote Fiordland coast

Revisiting the data after the announcement of the deferral, Sustainable Coastlines’ insights and impacts analyst, Carla Fonseca Paris, notes that 32,828 pieces of drinks-related litter have been collected since the inception of the Litter Intelligence programme in 2018. This includes plastic bottles, glass bottles, cans, lids and pull-tabs, and bottle neck rings.

“Since we looked at the data last year, citizen scientists have collected 8,798 more of these drinks-related items, and that’s just what was found in our 311 survey areas. As of 15 March, these items make up 7.9% of our total litter,” says Fonseca Paris.

While not a statistically significant increase, this indicates the problem is not getting better on its own. Sustainable Coastlines encourages people to take action as individuals, but emphasises the power of business and government to make wider changes.

At a litter survey in 2021, the Sustainable Coastlines team found plastic bottles at a rate 30 times the national average

The charity recently announced its goal to see 60% less litter on the coastlines of Aotearoa by 2030, and views litter data collected through its Litter Intelligence programme as a key way to achieve that.

“Data collected by citizen scientists concerned about the state of their local beach has informed government reporting and policy on litter. That’s a huge win for the people that care about our coasts,” says Borthwick, referring to the government’s ban on problem plastics that is currently being phased in.

“We know the government supports this mahi, and we hope to see the Container Return Scheme reprioritised in the near future.”

While the charity’s waste-reduction priorities are ‘refuse, reduce, and reuse’, recycling still has an important role to play. “It definitely has its place,” says Borthwick, “A functioning recycling system will make a big difference to our waste problem, but a circular economy with reusable containers is where we should eventually aim.”

The CRS has significant public support, with 91% of submissions supporting the scheme, and would represent a step towards redesigning how we deal with waste in Aotearoa.