A European citizen science project, in which 750 young people from Catalonia and Castilla y León have participated, has estimated that around a 30% of waste found in rivers are plastic bags, food containers and sanitary napkins.
The samplings were carried out in 37 sections of rivers in the provinces of Burgos, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona from September 15 to November 15 of last year, the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic- UCC) in a statement.
The youngsters, within the Plastic Pirates citizen science project, were able to collect data from microplastics found in water, waste and microplasticsand of the 4,600 single-use plastic waste, made up mainly of plastic bags, containers and wipes, which represent around 30% of the waste found.
Contamination ‘worrying’
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According to the researcher at the UVic-UCC Beta Technology Center and member of the Plastic Pirates project, Meritxell Abril, these plastic pollution levels are worrisomeand has stressed that “year after year, waste accumulates in seas and oceans, where it interferes with the development of marine species and the functioning of the ecosystem.”
The project Plastic Pirates It was born in Germany in 2016 and is focused on groups of young people from different educational centers, associations and groups from various European countries.