This spring, the German Plastic Pirates are once again setting off to explore plastic pollution in our waters. From 1 May to 30 June 2025, school classes and youth groups are invited to take part in the sampling period. The investigation will focus on the German coasts and the river systems of the Elbe and Danube, including their tributaries.

Participation on the German coast

Since 2024, the Plastic Pirates have not only been investigating rivers, but also the German coasts. The background to this is that the transition areas between rivers and coasts are particularly important, as this is where plastic waste from rivers ends up in the sea. The campaign period in autumn 2024 already provided valuable data on this, which is currently being evaluated. Further sampling in spring 2025 will provide even more insights into plastic pollution. Participation is possible on beaches in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

Reflection on the results with school classes from Schleswig-Holstein or Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 

We would also like to draw your attention to an additional offer from our project: We will be inviting selected school classes that are sampling coastal sections in Schleswig-Holstein or Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as part of the Plastic Pirates to take part in discussion rounds (focus groups) with us in spring/summer 2025. The aim is to involve the students more closely in the research process and to reflect together on what they have discovered during their excursion to the coast. Specifically, we want to discuss with them in focus groups what and who causes plastic pollution, the wider context of waste ‘on our own doorstep’ and what solutions the pupils know of.

Are you interested in taking part in the focus groups with your school class? We (a small team of social scientists from Plastic Pirates) would come to your school for a morning or block of lessons. It is important that the sampling has already taken place at the time of the focus groups. Please contact us for further information: info@plastic-pirates.eu!

Participation in the Elbe catchment area

School classes and youth groups are invited to take part in the search for plastic waste in the Elbe and its tributaries, and thus make an important contribution to research into environmental pollution near water bodies. The focus on a river system helps to better understand the connections between the transport of waste from the river to the sea. Tributaries such as the Havel, Saale, Bode or Dosse can also be analysed.

Participation in the Danube catchment area 

Thanks to additional funding from the Ferry Porsche Foundation, the Plastic Pirates will be active in the Danube basin again in spring 2025. Here, too, each individual data set contributes to a better understanding of plastic waste pollution near water bodies and the development of suitable measures. In addition to the Danube itself, all of its tributaries, such as the Blau, Regen and Fehla, can be sampled.

How can you take part? 

The campaign booklet and the accompanying teaching and work materials can now be ordered free of charge. We will send the accompanying material to school classes and youth groups who would like to study either the coasts or the river systems of the Danube or Elbe. They will be dispatched while stocks last. Booklets from previous campaign periods can still be used. Teachers or youth group leaders should schedule an appointment for sampling (duration: approx. 3 hours) in the period from 1 May to 30 June 2025 and simply contact us with any questions: info@plastic-pirates.eu

What learning outcomes does the programme promise?

As part of the sampling, the young people learn about the concept of scientific work and can try it out for themselves. They learn about the problem of plastic pollution in the environment and familiarise themselves with the sea and the water cycle. With the data collected, each participating group actively contributes to research into plastic waste pollution in Europe.

What happens to the results of the sampling?

The collected research data is uploaded to a central web platform and then analysed by scientists from the Kiel Science Factory and the Ecologic Institute. In this way, suitable solutions for the plastic crisis can also be derived. The project is part of the European initiative ‘Plastic Pirates - Go Europe!’, which involves close cooperation with other participating countries throughout Europe.