The Rhine River is full of much more waste than previously thought, German researchers warn, DPA reported, BTA reported.
A published study shows that between 3,000 and 4,700 tons of waste at least one centimeter long floats past the German city of Cologne every year.
This is significantly more than some earlier estimates, researchers from the universities of Bonn and Tübingen write in the journal Communications Sustainability.
This equates to 53,000 pieces of waste per day, study leader Leandra Hamann from the University of Bonn told DPA. Most of the waste in the oceans comes from rivers, Hamann, who is a biologist, explained. However, there are very few studies in which waste is collected and measured individually. The long-term study being conducted in Cologne is particularly complex.
In addition to the researchers, the study also involved numerous volunteers known as "citizen scientists".
This was made possible by the "RheinKrake" (Rhine Octopus) waste trap installed on the Rhine in Cologne. For years, it has been collecting so-called macro-litter from the Rhine waters over a width of three meters and a depth of 80 centimeters.
"The volunteers do the real hard work," explained Hamann. "These are people who do this in their free time. Some bring their children, others are pensioners; "It's a very diverse group that meets every other Saturday, regardless of the weather, to pull trash out of the water or spend two or three hours sorting and measuring, weighing and photographing. No one could fund this manual labor."
Over the course of a year, the trash trap collected 17,523 pieces of trash with an estimated total mass of 1,955 kilograms. About 70% of the individual items were made of plastic, but they only made up 15% of the weight. More than half of all items found were from private consumers, and about 28% of them were related to food or drink.
The study covered the twelve months between November 2022 and November 2023. About 10% of all items removed from the river during this period were fireworks.