How do I start monitoring marine debris?
You can volunteer with one of our regular monitoring programs, or learn how to set up your own monitoring site below.
If you’re passionate about cleaning up beaches, creating your own monitoring site is one of the most powerful ways to turn that passion into lasting impact.
Beach clean-ups are inspiring and immediately rewarding, but when you establish a monitoring site, you move beyond one-off action into long-term change. Tangaroa Blue Foundation’s National Monitoring Project allows community members, organisations, and school groups to contribute to a broader scientific monitoring programme.
This enables pattern tracking, debris source identification, and the creation of a credible local and regional dataset that can influence policy, funding, and prevention strategies. Instead of just removing litter, you begin documenting why it’s there and how it changes over time.
Bringing Together Community
Setting up a monitoring site is also an incredible way to bring your community together. It gives volunteers hands-on experience in structured data collection and introduces them to tools like the AMDI app, making their efforts measurable and meaningful.
What does establishing a monitoring site involve?
Establishing a site involves marking out four 25-metre transects along a beach using GPS coordinates. Within these defined areas, volunteers collect and log every piece of marine debris into the AMDI database. Monitoring is conducted quarterly to reveal seasonal and long-term patterns in debris accumulation, although more frequent surveys are always welcome. Over time, this consistent approach provides powerful insights into what’s washing ashore and when.
How do I choose a beach?
Choosing the right location is important. Select a beach that you can access year-round and that you feel connected to, perhaps one with environmental significance, cultural or historical value, or simply a stretch of coastline that consistently experiences high litter loads. The site should be at least 250 metres long, and surveys are best conducted within three hours of low tide to ensure safe and thorough access.
Steps to setting up your monitoring site
- Review the monitoring protocol document and data sheets (in resources below).
- Decide which type of site or sites along the litter pathway you would like to commit to survey on an ongoing basis.
- Decide if you want to adopt a site identified by Tangaroa Blue Foundation or recommend a new site in your area. Use the site selection and planning guidelines in the document.
- Register your site and arrange access to the AMDI Database.
- Before any monitoring can be conducted, make sure you obtain all relevant approvals to access the site and conduct a site inspection. We recommend that you refer to the Work Health and Safety Management Strategy.
- Organise your monitoring team and equipment.
- Complete the online training to familiarise yourself with the sampling methods for your site.
- Reach out to data@tangaroablue.org with any questions.
- Begin surveying!
By creating a monitoring site, you’re not just cleaning-up a beach, you’re building knowledge, empowering your community, and contributing to solutions that address marine debris at its source. It’s a commitment to stewardship, science, and sustained impact.
For more information on monitoring guidelines and site set-up:
Monitoring Methodology - Tangaroa Blue Foundation