On 4 June 2025, children from Berlin's Schinkel Elementary School embarked on a new mission as part of the Citizen-Science Project "Plastic Pirates Go Europe!" – to investigate plastic waste by the River Spree. Together with Doris Knoblauch and Hannah Brunkhorst (both Ecologic Institute), the pirates explored the riverbank and made a few exciting discoveries.

The campaign is actually aimed at young people between the ages of 10 and 16, but thanks to the great support from the teachers and educators at Schinkel Elementary School, it was also possible to get younger participants interested in scientific research and data collection. On the sampling day, numerous waste samples were collected, documented and then analyzed according to previously defined scientific standards.

The children from Ms. Römer's Otter class were very enthusiastic and quickly found what they were looking for. In addition to numerous cigarette butts, plastic bags, packaging, crown caps and pieces of glass, some of the found garbage caused great amazement such as an aluminum grill or handcuffs. It was impressive to see how the children came up with many ideas during the garbage collection about how plastic waste could be avoided in everyday life.

The collected data was then uploaded to the interactive map on the Plastic Pirates web platform. The scientific evaluation of the results is carried out together with scientists from the Kieler Forschungswerkstatt, which is supervising the implementation of the project in Germany together with the Ecologic Institute.

Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! is a Citizen-Science Project that campaigns for clean rivers, seas and waters across Europe. It raises young people's awareness of the consequences of plastic waste pollution and introduces participants to scientific work and research in a tangible way. In Germany, the focus of the current Spring 2025 campaign lies on the rivers Elbe and Danube and their related river systems, as well as the German coastal regions and islands of the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

You can find more information about the campaign and how to take part on the official project website.