Marine debris has caused widespread
environmental impacts across the globe, with
millions of marine organisms estimated to be
affected each year. Abandoned fishing nets
entangle a wide variety of marine animals,
restricting their movement, while plastic debris is
often mistaken for food by sea turtles, leading to
intestinal blockages. Marine debris not only
threatens marine ecosystems but also endangers
the safety and well-being of all life on Earth.
Currently, the platform organizes Taiwan’s
marine debris survey data into two main
categories: (1) data from removal operations
conducted by government agencies, and (2)
survey and cleanup results collected by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This project
integrates information from the
Ministry of Environment’s Coastal Cleanup Adoption System
, marine debris removal efforts by municipal governments, and
historical beach cleanup records maintained by the Society of Wilderness since 2004.
All data are presented through geographic mapping and visualized statistical charts.
The Ministry of Environment classifies marine debris collected during coastal cleanups into nine major categories, including recyclable and nonrecyclable items. Waste is recorded based on its weight.
The Society of Wilderness
referencing the
International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) framework,
consolidated the original 45 marine debris
categories into 19 key items, including: plastic
beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, other
beverage and food containers, non-food bottles
and containers, plastic bags, food wrappers,
straws, takeaway beverage cups, disposable
tableware, metal cans, foil or Tetra Pak cartons,
glass bottles, fishing gear, fishing floats, buoys,
boat bumpers, fishing nets and ropes, cigarette
butts, toothbrushes, syringes, needles, lighters,
and four additional categories of locally
significant debris (Local Concern 1–4) (Source: Society of
Wilderness). The data collected by the
Society of Wilderness is recorded based on the
number of items. As this platform presents data
based on different sources and statistical units,
the recorded quantities (number of items) and
weights come from separate datasets and are
not directly correlated