The continual monitoring POPs* as an indicator of pollution is addressed within the Stockholm Convention and is indispensable for the construction of an environmentally sustainable social structure. Conventional marine POP monitoring has relied on the sampling of seawater, bottom sludge, and marine organisms. Cost and technology limitations, however, have made it difficult to extend such sampling over a sufficient broad extent. In this research, we explore an approach to monitoring marine POP pollution that is much less expensive than traditional approaches, covers a much broader swathe of the world, and encourages the participation of global citizens everywhere. That is, we enlist the cooperation of civic organizations throughout the world to monitor the beaching of plastic resin plastics in their bit of the world and, by that, help us monitor POPs pollution on a global scale. Our first attempts of this nature date to 2005. We are now to expand this network of cooperatives to 50 countries (citizens of the USA, UK, continental European countries, Malaysia, South Africa, Australia, etc. together with UNEP and other researchers) and comprehensively monitor a a wider range of POPs.
*POPs: persistent organic pollutants are organic chemical compounds are resistant to biodegradation, highly accumulating, travel long distances, and are hazardous to human health and ecological systems.