A seven-year citizen science study with schoolchildren on German riversides found stable litter density, mainly plastic and cigarette butts, with wider rivers showing higher litter levels, stressing the need for policy action.

Doris Knoblauch and Felix Nütz (both Ecologic Institute) introduced the Plastics Pirates project to interested visitors at the Danube Festival in Ulm on 10 July 2024. At their own stand, they conducted experiments with children and adults to demonstrate the problem of plastic pollution and microplastics in particular.

The Plastic Pirates start a new small project in the autumn of 2024. The new focus this time: the river system of the Danube! The second-longest river of Europe, stretching over 2.850 kilometers, starts in the Black Forrest, and flows through a total of 10 countries before emptying in the Black Sea. The river system includes many important tributaries, for example the Isar, Inn and Lech. The new project focused on the Danube is an addition to the ongoing analysis of the Elbe River System and the German coasts. Gaining further insights in plastic pollution of these water bodies will be the aim of the Plastic Pirates’ 2024 autumn campaign period.