Weighing litter

As mentioned before, it is important to make sure that all items are clean and dry before weighing them. Note that some litter materials such as fabric may take longer to dry compared to other items.

• Litter should be weighed per type e.g., all earbuds, together.
• All litter is weighed to the nearest 0.1 g. Some heavier items, however, may require a different scale with a 1 kg resolution.Fishing gear such as hooks, fishing
• line, ropes, sinkers, and lures should be separated from each other before being weighed within their respective categories.

Note:

Depending on your research question and the resources you have available, each item of litter can also be weighed individually to provide information regarding the weights of the fragments. Note that this will require significantly more effort.

Reminder:

Litter items should be weighed per zone (i.e., wet and dry zone) and per day for accumulation surveys. Each survey should thus have two weight estimates, one for the dry zone and one for the wet zone.

Watch the video for tips on weighing and disposing litter