Aussie 'citizen scientists' hunt for microplastics

Hunting for microplastics

Location: Sydney, Australia

These beachgoers have become

citizen scientists

They document and map microplastics

at their local beaches

They hope to use the data to

develop solutions

to map plastic hotspots and

find out how to clean them up

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CITIZEN SCIENTIST SARAH COOK, SAYING:

"You know I love the marine environment. I spend a lot of the time in the ocean, in the local river around here and I find it really disturbing to find plastics out there. You know just walking on the beaches - we need to find a way of preventing it getting there in the first place."

Microplastic pieces are around

5 mm or smaller

Toxic chemicals in plastic can increase the chance of disease

The use of disposable products has contributed to the problem

The results are published on the website AUSMAP