Planet Patrolling: A citizen science brand audit of anthropogenic litter in the context of national legislation and international policy

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2022-08, Vol.436, p.129118, Article 129118
• Main Authors: Stanton, Thomas, Chico, Guaduneth, Carr, Elizabeth, Cook, Sarah, Gomes, Rachel Louise, Heard, Elizabeth, Law, Antonia, Wilson, Hazel L., Johnson, Matthew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropogenic Litter; Brand Audit; carbonated beverages; Citizen Science; Environmental Social Governance; freshwater; governance; international policy and programs; laws and regulations; Plastic Pollution; plastics; surveys; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129118

Anthropogenic Litter (AL) is ubiquitous in distribution and diverse in type and impact. Citizen science AL clean-ups engage citizens with the environment and have the potential to generate data that can inform policy. Here we present a detailed citizen science survey of AL across freshwater, terrestrial, and coastal environments of the United Kingdom (UK), coordinated by the not-for-profit Planet Patrol throughout 2020. Key materials, industries, brands, and parent companies associated with AL are identified. Plastic dominated AL (63%), followed by metal (14%), and composite materials (12%). The majority of AL (56%) had been used as beverage containers and non-beverage packaging, and 38.8% of AL was branded. Of the branded AL, 26% was associated with The Coca-Cola Company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and PepsiCo. These three companies were associated with significantly more branded litter than any other. We place these data in the context of upcoming UK legislation and the Environmental Social Governance (ESG) statements of the companies associated with the majority of the recorded litter. Knowledge gaps and recommendations for AL surveying are made, and the focus of corporate and government actions are discussed. [Display omitted] •Plastic is the dominant AL material recorded by citizen scientists.•The majority of UK AL is associated with the beverage industry and packaging.•The Coca-Cola Company, Anheuser-Busch InBev and PepsiCo were associated 26.2% of branded AL.•Brand audits should inform ESG statements.•ESG statements focus on the ideal, not realised, fate of products.