The Plastic Pirates family is expanding its crew in the Mediterranean! We're thrilled to announce that in spring 2024, France will be joining the Plastic Pirates initiative, with a special focus on the Marseille area. Look forward to the Plastic Pirates website and material for download in French and of course news and social media channels of the initiative!

The autumn sampling period is over by now. Since September 2023 school classes and youth groups all over Europe became Plastic Pirates and support scientists, activists and stakeholders in learning more about the pollution at and in European rivers and streams.

Key discussions revolved around consolidating national sampling data to ensure accessibility on EMODnet and Zenodo by mid-2024. Additionally, experts initiated a review of microplastic analysis methods to ensure a harmonized approach. Looking ahead, the team outlined plans for the upcoming year and discussed long-term perspectives, including preparations for the Plastic Pirates Stakeholder event scheduled for October.

In our first Plastic Pirates quiz, participants were asked to test their knowledge about the Plastic Pirates project and plastic pollution. The Quiz period is over and the winners have been announced. We are thrilled that many people and school classes from all over Europe did the quiz.

The Plastic Pirates team has started to review its approach for scaling the initiative outlining success factors and challenges in order to collect practicable recommendations for citizen science initiatives that aim to scale as well. The first draft is currently under review by the Plastic Pirates team and will be finalized in 2024.

The Plastic Pirates - Go Europe! project has been highlighted as one of the standout accomplishments within the ERA Policy Agenda 2022-24. This recognition underscores the project's successful expansion at a European level.

European Ocean Days will be from 04.-08.03.2024. It will cover, on separate days over the week, the EU Mission Ocean and Waters, future priorities for Europe’s seas, blue innovation and investment opportunities, as well as ocean literacy activities. The Plastic Pirates crew will also join the event. More information here.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 10108882.

© Pictures DLR Projektträger, PasticPiratesSpain, Lisa Buder and canva.com