Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! Hands-on science for Europe’s young people
The citizen science initiative ‘Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!’ is investigating the problem of litter in waterways on behalf of the European Commission. Children and young people collect plastic waste from rivers, waterways and coastlines. They document their findings in accordance with scientific guidelines, thereby providing valuable data for European researchers to develop systemic solutions for preventing and eliminating plastic pollution. DLR Projektträger is coordinating the expansion of the formerly Germany-based campaign across Europe.
Young people learn to work scientifically
The initiative empowers young people across Europe to take active steps against plastic pollution and to protect our oceans and water bodies. Pupils leave the classroom and become researchers in their own right. Whilst collecting valuable research data at and in water bodies, they learn to think and work scientifically. Teachers can use ready-made teaching materials in their respective national languages and integrate the activities into the curriculum.
Europe-wide implementation of a citizen science initiative
DLR Projektträger coordinates the initiative across Europe. It translates the accompanying teaching materials and the Plastic Pirates website into the official languages of the participating partner countries and offers training workshops on the initiative itself, as well as on press and public relations work for the initiative. In doing so, DLR Projektträger demonstrates how a citizen science project can be successfully scaled up at European level. Together with researchers in the partner countries, DLR Projektträger has continuously refined the methods used in the citizen science project. The initiative began with plastic collection campaigns along rivers and waterways. Young people can now also collect and scientifically document plastic on beaches and coastlines.
In November 2024, DLR Projektträger also organised the pan-European Plastic Pirates Summit in Brussels, at which around 120 political stakeholders, representatives of the participating countries, young people, teachers, researchers and experts discussed the successes, results, findings and lessons learnt from the Europeanisation of the citizen science ‘Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!’ initiative.
The Plastic Pirates initiative was launched in Germany with funding from the BMFTR and expanded to Portugal and Slovenia between 2019 and 2022. Building on this success, DLR Projektträger has expanded the initiative, so that today Plastic Pirates are cleaning up riverbanks in a total of 13 European countries. The European Commission is supporting the initiative’s expansion across Europe through the international action ‘Europeanisation of the Plastic Pirates citizen science initiative’ of the Plastic Pirates citizen science initiative’, as part of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, under the mission for Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coasts and Inland Waters.
We at DLR Projektträger are proud that, through the European roll-out of Plastic Pirates, we are helping to inspire Europe’s youth to take an interest in science whilst simultaneously collecting data on the extent and source of pollution in our rivers and water bodies.
