Making a Difference: Tracking Beach, Marine and Waterways Litter
15 Nov 2016
Accurate and efficient data collection concerning marine debris may be one of the first steps for raising awareness and reducing the amount of overall debris found on beaches and waterways. One solution that attempts to give everyone an opportunity to help solve the problem of litter in our waterways and on our beaches is the Marine Debris Tracker mobile app.
The app was created as a joint effort between the Southeast Atlantic Marine Debris Initiative and the NOAA Marine Debris Program and allows you to check in when you find litter on along the coastlines or in various waterways.
The app works by using GPS tracking technology to log the location of the litter and allows users to identify which of several categories the garbage and debris falls into, current categories include:
- Plastic
- Metal
- Glass
- Paper and Lumber
- Cloth
- Fishing Gear
- Rubber
- Other
You may even choose to identify the debris identified with specific keywords when you’re logging it. The hope is to improve the function of the tracker along the way and there are plans to offer customized versions of the marine debris tracker in the future as well.
What this means is that anyone who wants to can get involved in an effort to log and identify the type of litter and debris found in these vulnerable places. The tool itself doesn’t send out teams of people to clean up the debris. That is still the work of individuals who are concerned about the environment and the safety of marine life that can be harmed by this debris, like yourself, to do.
What the Marine Debris Tracker mobile app does do, is help to get the word out raise awareness of the scale of the problem of marine, beach, and waterway debris. It is only when we begin to see how large the problem really is that people will begin taking action to help solve the problem.
The Marine Debris Tracker turns any mobile phone into a marine tracking device with a purpose – helping to raise awareness about the problem of litter in waterways throughout the country. You don’t have to be in a coastal area to use the app effectively either. It can be used to report debris along inland streams and rivers. So if you’re white water rafting in Colorado or fly-fishing in Montana you can still do your part to help.
While it is still up to individuals to make a difference, technology, like the Marine Debris Tracker, makes it easier to get the word out about the severity of need so that more people can show up to make a difference.
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