Report Your Trail Clean Data
The Power of Citizen Science
Through the State of Our Trails Report Programme, we're paving the way for research on Single-Use Pollution (SUP) on recreational trails, and you're the driver. All our data is powered by incredible volunteer Citizen Scientists, spending time protecting their trails, and then sharing with us what they've found.
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You can submit either a Trash Survey or Trash Count. A full Trash Survey takes less than 10 minutes. A Trash Count takes less than 5. See below for more information.
Trash Count
Trash Counts serve the purpose of filling our knowledge gap on the distribution and prevalence of Single-Use Pollution present in our recreational trails. It's about how much is out there and where it's occurring.
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To undertake your own, follow these simple steps while out on a run, ride or roam:
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1) Record your adventure using komoot
2) Count every piece of SUP you find within 3m either side of the trail
3) Take note every km of how much you've found (this can be every 100m for a shorter route)
4) Photograph any hotspots
5) Press finish and upload your route to komoot
Trash Counts are rapid assessments of our trails. They are equally important as stand-alone contributions or when paired up with a Trail Clean and Trash Survey.
Trash Survey
Trash Surveys aim to take a detailed snapshot of the Single-Use Pollution you have removed from your trails. It's what you do at the end of a trail clean, when you categorise and count everything that's been removed.
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Trash Surveys allow us to understand the composition of Single-Use Pollution in our trails. We survey everything, from the types of items, the brands we've found, any signs of animal interaction and more.
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To do your own Trash Survey:
1) Download the tally sheet below
2) Categorise the findings from your Trail Clean
3) Count up each category
4) Submit your findings below
5) Don't forget to reward yourself!
How Do We Study Trash?
Next to no research on terrestrial pollution on recreational trail ecosystems is taking place. This is why we take our research into Single-Use Pollution to another level, thanks to our partnership with Bosch eBike Systems and Bangor University. We're creating new scientifically-founded methods for monitoring and surveying the levels of pollution our community are finding and tackling. Learn more about our methods for Trash Counts and Trash Surveys below.
Thank You
For taking the time to Submit your Trail Clean Data.
Every tiny morsel of the data that you supply contributes massively to our State of our Trails Report and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, to our mission to reduce Single-Use Pollution on our trails and wild places.
Do you have a question about
our research? Email PJ on pj@trashfreetrails.org
