LITTERBUG | GLOBAL 2000

Littering is a global challenge. In particular, plastic has become a universal threat, not only to our oceans but to nature in general. But how much litter is out there in our natural environment? This question was the driver for developing the GLOBAL 2000 LitterBug App. To answer it, we need YOUR help!

The LitterBug App is an initiative of the environmental NGO GLOBAL 2000 in cooperation with both the Austrian Alpine Association Edelweiss and the Austrian Alpine Club. Our aim is to rid nature of pollution and to ensure that it is kept that way in the long run. We are collecting data on plastic pollution in the alps in order to allow us to develop long-term solutions and raise awareness of a problem that has no borders.

The users of the LitterBug app will receive information about potential hazards driven by the following litter categories: Plastics & Rubber, Metal, Glass & Ceramics, Electrics, Paper, Textiles, and Cigarettes. The LitterBug app is designed within the framework/scope of a Citizen Science project to help identify waste hotspots. The data of the app will help us to get a better understanding of the littering problem and to find solutions for a better, cleaner future.

The Litterbug App as a research tool
Plastics are everywhere in our daily lives and are part of important usages, for example, in the medical sector. The problem arises when the plastic quickly loses its original function, for example, as a coffee-to-go cup. In just a few minutes, garbage was created from a single cup, which functioned only a short time as packaging. To enjoy and appreciate the nature around us, we all need to gain more awareness of how to deal with and dispose of waste.

The PlasticAlps project, hosted by the University of Innsbruck at the Institute of Ecology (funded by the Austrian Exchange Service), aims to further strengthen this awareness together with the Austrian Alpine Club and nature lovers. In the high mountains, children will explore sensitive high-alpine habitats and investigate the impact of plastic pollution for a glacier ecosystem. More information about the PlasticAlps project is available at www.plasticalps.com.

Since the project PlasticAlps focuses on plastic pollution in high alpine areas, the collaboration of the Litterbug App and PlasticAlps project enables the scientific investigation of the littering problem in the supposedly untouched high mountain ecosystems.

The extent of plastic pollution in such high mountain ecosystems and its consequences are still mostly unknown. The cooperation of the LitterBug App and PlasticAlps will try to answer these questions. If you are on a mountain hike and come across litter, you can become active as a citizen scientist, collecting and documenting it via the Litterbug App.

The challenge
Every year, more than 29 million tons of plastic waste are produced in Europe (including Norway and Switzerland) alone. A substantial proportion of this becomes litter and ends up in our forests, rivers, and oceans. A plastic bottle takes about 450 years to decompose. This is a threat to nature, animals, and humans. Therefore, the reduction of plastic waste concerns us all!

Our aim is not only to make our nature a little cleaner but also to ensure that it stays that way long term. With the app, citizen scientists can help collect data to help develop future solutions for the littering problem.

Thank you for your help in ridding our environment of litter!

The GLOBAL 2000 Litterbug App is running on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science Platform. (www.spotteron.net)