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In the first three months of 2026 our incredible AUSMAP Ambassadors have already completed 25 microplastic surveys across 4 states and 2 islands! Communities Leading the Way Across Australia local communities have made a big impact! Proving that meaningful environmental research doesn’t only happen in laboratories, it happens on beaches, in backyards, and through the dedication of everyday people! Victor Harbor Coastcare SA started the year off right with 2 samples, one on Esplanade Beach on the 18th January, and another at Hayborough on the 1st February.  The year began strongly with Victor Harbor Coastcare SA , who completed two early samples at Esplanade Beach and Hayborough. Their work set the tone for what would become a wave of grassroots action across the country. Soon after, Plastic Free Noosa  contributed a sample from Marcus Beach in Queensland, demonstrating how local initiatives can feed directly into broader environmental understanding. Meanwhile, our ongoing monthly sampling with the Cove Collective  has continued to grow in both energy and impact. February’s session with Reshaping Waste  was joined by special guest Amanda Cohn, while March saw an incredible turnout of 45 participants for a combined Clean Up Australia  and Ocean Lovers Festival  sampling event with Roland from Emu Parade  and Ben and Jerry’s Manly supplying coffee and ice cream. These moments show how citizen science doesn’t just collect data, it builds community, awareness, and momentum. Our Clean Up Australia Day and Ocean Lovers Festival March Manly Cove sample Over in Western Australia, our longtime friends at Bottle Top Hill  added to the effort with a repeat sample from Bicton Baths, while Ten Little Pieces  impressed us with their beautiful sample processing and pictures of buckets used at the beach to encourage rubbish collection for their 2 samples on the 6th of Feb at Sunshine and Sunrise beach in QLD.  Ten Little Pieces beautiful Sunshine Beach sample processing From Mainland to Remote Shores Citizen science knows no boundaries. Leonie and Wayne, two incredible ambassadors, have been travelling the country with a sieve and bucket in hand. Their contributions from Lord Howe Island (Neds Beach and Old Settlers Beach) not only provided valuable samples to our hotspot database , but also captured the beauty and vulnerability of these remote environments. Leonie and Wayne at Neds Beach on beautiful Lord Howe Island, 15 Feb In Sydney, the Clovelly AUSMAP Community Group, led by Ross Feller, continued their dedicated local efforts! Then we took an excursion to Karta Pintingga/ Kangaroo Island thanks to the SA Citizen Science Grants from the Department of Environment and Water . We collaborated with the incredible Friends of Parks K.I. Western Districts  organised by Bev and Collin for a sample at Vivonne Bay.  Rounding out the quarter, Hastings Environmental Rotary  in Port Macquarie contributed their third sample from the region at Oxley Beach! Community day with Friends of Parks K.I. Western Districts at Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Island, 7 March. This project is supported by the DEW Environmental Small Citizen Science Grants 2023 Meanwhile, our Senior Science Officer Dr Natasha Franklin collected a total of 7 samples in her own time documenting the high loads of plastic brought in by weather and swell in the past few months. The bottom 1mm sieve from Dr Natasha's microplastic sample at Colins Flat beach Why Citizen Science Matters Each of these samples tells a story. On their own, they are snapshots. But together, they form a powerful dataset that helps us understand how plastic pollution moves, accumulates, and impacts our coastlines. It empowers individuals and communities to take part in real scientific action. It builds awareness and stewardship, turning concern into action. It expands our data set far beyond what our small team could achieve. And critically, it provides the data needed to drive change, from local cleanups to national policy discussions. Without the contributions of volunteers, ambassadors, and community groups, this level of insight simply wouldn’t be possible. A Collective Effort To everyone who has taken part, whether collecting samples on beaches, sorting debris in the office, or supporting these efforts behind the scenes, thank you. Your time, energy, and care are what make this work possible! Citizen science is more than participation. It is collaboration, connection, and impact! Want to get involved with AUSMAP and become a volunteer? Submit your interest here!

AUSMAP's shoreline monitoring provides some of the first site-specific evidence of synthetic grass fibres accumulating in Metropolitan Sydney waterways.  Synthetic grass installations are now commonplace across Australia, appearing everywhere from community and elite sports fields to school playgrounds, party boats, residential yards and public landscaping . These surfaces have been associated with a range of concerns, including surface temperatures reaching up to 75 °C  on hot days, increased player injury risk, reduced biodiversity, and intensified urban heat , particularly in Sydney's Western Suburbs. This increasingly popular plastic product has the potential to release microplastics into surrounding drains, parks, and waterways, contributing to a growing and largely unmanaged source of urban plastic pollution.  Artificial greenery, including synthetic grass observed along tide line of Manly Cove, Sydney - May 2025 Shoreline surveys by AUSMAP demonstrate the presence of synthetic grass fibres in Metropolitan Sydney waterways dating back to 2019. How do synthetic fibres enter the environment? Synthetic grass microplastic fibres are released from their source, such as sporting fields, residential yards, playgrounds, and landscaped areas, through everyday wear, weathering and maintenance activities. Once mobilised, these fibres can enter the surrounding environment via the stormwater network. There, they persist in sediments and along shorelines, where they can act as sponges for other environmental pollutants and be ingested by wildlife. Importantly, this demonstrates that synthetic grass materials are not confined to their points of installation but are dispersed into the wider urban environment. How much synthetic grass has AUSMAP found? Recent AUSMAP data show that synthetic grass fragments are becoming increasingly common in Sydney’s waterways. At regularly monitored locations, such as Rose Bay in Sydney Harbour, synthetic grass debris has increased approximately tenfold between 2022 and 2025 , reaching over 20 blades per square metre. Similarly, at Manly Cove, synthetic grass fragments were first detected in 2019, and concentrations have since tripled , despite natural year-to-year fluctuations. The highest average concentration recorded to date was at Tower Beach (Gamay/Botany Bay), where up to 2,500 blades per m²  were recorded in 2024. Local stormwater inputs, rainfall patterns, and nearby synthetic grass fields in the Botany Bay region likely contribute to the high and variable amounts seen at this site. We need action to prevent further loss into our environment. Microplastic synthetic grass blades at Bondi Beach We are calling for: A 5-year moratorium on new planning and approvals for synthetic grass fields until further research and information on potential human and environmental harm from these fields is clarified. Enforcement of Australian Standards for pollution mitigation measures on synthetic grass fields and more detailed guidelines for field management to be implemented on all existing synthetic fields as soon as possible. Invest substantial effort into improving drainage and the condition of natural grass fields to avoid synthetic grass. Local governments to provide a truly balanced cost-benefit analysis at the end-of-life of synthetic fields compared to those of natural turf. Do you want to learn more about synthetic turf? You can read about the rest of our work on synthetic grass and rubber crumb here , including a deep dive into quantifying how much rubber crumb is coming off synthetic playground flooring. Hosted by AUSMAP and Seabin Foundation , our Beyond the Surface event dove into the impacts of synthetic grass on our environment - followed by an expert panel. Watch the presentation here: Join us in our call for action? Send a letter to your local MP using our easy-to-use template!

“Getting to the UN treaty table takes years of research, data, and community action — and staying there takes ongoing support. We’ve made it this far, and with your help, we can turn this treaty into real change.”  — Dr Scott Wilson, AUSMAP Research Director AUSMAP at the Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations in Geneva Dr Scott on the second row behind the #BreakFreeFromPlastic banner | Photo credit: Trixie Guerrero From 05 to 14 August 2025,189 nations and more than 650 observer groups — from NGOs to scientists to industry lobbyists — gathered in Geneva for the latest round of talks on the Global Plastics Treaty 2025 . This treaty seeks to be the first legally binding global agreement to end plastic pollution. For AUSMAP, this moment is the result of years of citizen science, mapping microplastics across Australia, and pushing our government to take action. Now, we’re bringing that data to the world stage. But after days of tense talks, the negotiations ended in stalemate . The sticking point? Whether to include a binding cap on single-use plastic production  — the very source of the problem. Other issues that remain unresolved include how to address plastic pollution across its entire life cycle and whether to tackle human health impacts and harmful chemicals in plastics. Before Geneva — The Work to Get tHere Our journey started on Australia’s shorelines. Volunteers, schools, and communities have been collecting sediment samples for over eight years. That evidence built the Australian Microplastic Pollution Hotspot Map  — showing that tiny plastic fragments are everywhere, from remote beaches to urban harbours. That map has already influenced state and national policies and scientific research. Without citizen science and robust data, we wouldn’t have a voice in Geneva. At the Negotiations — AUSMAP Driving Change at the Global Plastics Treaty 2025 Inside the UN, three big questions dominated debate: Plastic production caps  — Will the world agree to reduce plastics at the source? Full life-cycle accountability  — From production and chemicals to disposal and waste. Monitoring and enforcement  — Ensuring commitments are more than words. Australia stood firm as part of the High Ambition Coalition  of 120+ nations, pushing for binding rules on plastic production and chemical additives. This group of high ambition nations support a full lifecycle approach to plastics, from production to waste, climate and health impacts.  But opposition came from oil and plastic giants — including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, China, and the United States — who resisted any cap on production, and insisted on focusing on downstream management, like recycling, which we know is not the solution. Meanwhile, industry lobbyists were everywhere. More than 230 lobbyists , mostly from oil, gas, and plastics, had direct access to negotiations — some embedded within national delegations. Their influence was clear: stall, weaken, delay. From AUSMAP’s side, Dr Scott worked with Pacific Island nations, NGOs, and scientists to ensure microplastics are recognised as a life-cycle issue , not just a waste problem. We’ve been making the case that science and monitoring must be central if the treaty is to succeed. Dr Scott outside the Plastic Treaty Negotiations in Geneva - AUSMAP driving change at the Global Plastics Treaty 2025. After the Treaty — What’s Next The reality is clear: a treaty without a production cap is a weak treaty . If necessary, high ambition nations must move ahead together, even without consensus from petrochemical states. We call on the Australian Federal Government to do so, and to do so fast. Australia’s Environment Minister Murray Watt confirmed he is disappointed no agreement was secured, but reinforcing " Australia was never going to accept a bad deal for our environment " . Australia stood strong as part of the High Ambition Coalition, pushing for binding rules to limit problematic plastics and harmful chemicals.  We still have a big job at home:  Australia continues to be the second-largest consumer of single-use plastics in the world, and we can’t recycle our way out of this crisis. We call for: Strong packaging regulations that cut single-use plastics, scales up a circular economy, not just focusing on recycling; Rules that make producers responsible for plastics across their full lifecycle; and Monitoring and enforcement systems powered by science and citizen data . The good news? More than 80% of Australians support strong packaging laws . Now it’s time to deliver. We still have a big job at home — Australia must now turn treaty promises into strong national action to reduce plastic pollution. How You Can Be Part of This Every shoreline survey, every data set, and every intervention at the Global Plastics Treaty is only possible because of people like you. You can: Donate today to ensure we can keep monitoring our shorelines for microplastic pollution and informing the state, national and international community of our results Share this message with your community Collect a microplastic sample along your local shoreline , if you have been AUSMAP trained. “Plastic pollution is everywhere, but once we make it visible, change becomes possible. The Global Plastics Treaty is a huge step forward — but only if we make sure the promises are kept. That means more science, more advocacy, and more people like you standing with us.” — Dr Scott Wilson, AUSMAP Research Director Dr Scott Wilson representing AUSMAP at the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations _________________ To learn more about AUSMAP’s work and how you can help, visit AUSMAP’s website  or follow us on social media. AUSMAP's work is entirely grant and donation funded - donate here and help us continue the longest running microplastic dataset. Our data helps put microplastics on the map, contributing to real-life science and policy change.

Putting microplastics on the map with ausmap AUSMAP along with the help of over 1000 citizen scientists has collected over 900 microplastic samples Australia-wide. Microplastic pollution... Act Now Plastic pollution is now recognised as one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. However, with increasing plastic production, and approximately 12 million metric ton leaking into our oceans annually , plastic pollution is a rapidly growing problem. Over the past decade, there has been significant attention given to macrolitter. However, microplastics (plastics < 5mm) are now considered a greater concern, with scientists calling for them to be listed as a hazardous substance. Of the numerous recognised impacts to wildlife from marine litter, over 70% can be attributed to microplastics, and with their ability to move through the food chain, effects are compounded. microplastic mission AUSMAP has collected over 800 samples from over 350 locations around Australia. Click on each state to find out more about microplastic hotspots nationally. NEW SOUTH WALES There have been over 350 AUSMAP surveys taken across NSW, from Bermagui in the south to Byron Bay in the far north. High and Very High results are generally found at estuarine, harbourside and urban coastal sites, while Very Low results (0-10 mp/m2) are more common in regional areas . Click to discover more... Click to read about our longest running dataset WESTERN AUSTRALIA WA has recorded Very Low to Very High concentrations of microplastics from over 90 surveys, collected from Broome in the North to Sandy Hook Island in the South. Click to discover more... Victoria Sampling has been undertaken at fifteen sites across Victoria ranging from its busiest Port to the small unique sands of Mud Island, Port Phillip Bay. In 2022, sampling focused at Port Melbourne Beach near the Melbourne CBD to monitor plastic concentrations in an urban context. SOUTH AUSTRALIA Describe your service here. What makes it great? Use short catchy text to tell people what you offer, and the benefits they will receive. A great description gets readers in the mood, and makes them more likely to go ahead and book. Click to discover more... NORTHERN TERITORY AUSMAP has conducted microplastic surveys around the Top End of the Northern Territory, from the Cox Peninsula to East Arnhem Land. Click to discover more... Christmas & Cocos keeling islands Sampling has been undertaken at fifteen sites across Victoria ranging from its busiest Port to the small unique sands of Mud Island, Port Phillip Bay. In 2022, sampling focused at Port Melbourne Beach near the Melbourne CBD to monitor plastic concentrations in an urban context. QUEENSLAND Over 200 samples have been taken in Queensland from as far north as Thursday Island, to Victoria Point in the South. Many of these samples have been processed by AUSMAP as part of the Federal Government funded ReefClean Project in partnership with the Tangaroa Blue Foundation. Click to discover more... TASMANIA The 2024 data from 27 sampling sites across Tasmania paints an encouraging picture, with overall microplastic pollution remaining remarkably low. Click to discover more... Taiwan Sampling has been undertaken at fifteen sites across Victoria ranging from its busiest Port to the small unique sands of Mud Island, Port Phillip Bay. In 2022, sampling focused at Port Melbourne Beach near the Melbourne CBD to monitor plastic concentrations in an urban context.

Rubber Crumb and Synthetic TurF: Research on the potential danger behind the plastic infill Watch our latest synthetic turf talk here Hosted by AUSMAP and Seabins our Beyond the Surface event dove into the impacts of Synthetic Turf on our environment - followed by an expert panel. View Here With 1.5 billion tyres reaching end-of-life globally, there has been a call to reevaluate the tyre disposal process. In an attempt to recycle end-of-life tyres through the Tyre Stewardship Scheme , there has been an increase in the use of rubber crumb as soft fall surfaces on playgrounds and as infill in synthetic turf sporting fields. Rubber crumb material was developed with the aim to reduce the environmental, health, and safety impacts from the common incineration process at the end of the tyre life cycle. But is this causing more harm than good? As a nationwide citizen science program, AUSMAP aims to quantify microplastic pollution with the primary goals of identifying litter hotspots and assisting in source reduction. Since 2018, AUSMAP and its community of volunteers and partners have collected over 600 samples and removed over 5 million microplastics from Australian waterways. In doing so, it has become apparent that sustained inputs of synthetic grass and rubber crumb are commonplace in both freshwater and coastal samples in NSW. Revelations of environmental impacts and significant research gaps in the recent NSW Chief Scientist and Engineers Report (CSE) Synthetic Turf in Public Spaces (2023) have highlighted these materials as a critical concern. What is Rubber Crumb and synthetic turf? Rubber Crumb is produced through shedding processes that mechanically break apart tyre material. The resulting rubber crumb granules are microplastics measuring <5mm. The granules are comprised primarily of synthetic rubber polymer and other reinforcing agents, aromatic extender oils, vulcanisation additives, antioxidants, and processing agents. The resulting granules are commonly used as road base, to fill synthetic sports fields and as a soft fall surface on playgrounds. PHOTO: Horseshoe Bay playground, QLD | SOURCE: Tangaroa Blue What is the Problem with Synthetic Turf fields and playgrounds? In addition to the voluntary introduction of microplastics into the environment, there is a limited understanding of the potential impacts rubber crumb can have on human and environmental health. Potential Human Health Impacts of synthetic turf fields As of 2023, there are 181 synthetic sport fields in New South Wales alone. As this number increases, the impact that Australia’s climate has on the lifespan of rubber crumb surfaces has been a cause for further investigation. With an ambient air temperature of 26℃, artificial surfaces can reach over 60℃, posing a significant safety hazard. Additionally, of the 306 chemicals that are found in rubber crumb, 197 meet the theoretical criteria for carcinogens. There is currently limited research on the impact these materials have on children and athletes that frequently come into contact with rubber crumb, highlighting the need for more research Adverse Environmental Impact From both soft fall playgrounds and loose synthetic field infill, the small particle size enables rubber crumb to be highly mobile in aquatic environments. Additionally, the chemicals found in rubber crumb material can leach into the soil and waterways, potentially affecting environmental health. One chemical in particular is 6PPD- quinone, which is the result of 6PPD (an additive to prevent tyre degradation) interacting with ozone in the atmosphere. It was demonstrated to cause acute toxicity in Coho salmon and has been found in low concentrations in 5 key urban centres around Queensland . Similar to the extent of knowledge on human health, there is currently limited understanding of the environmental impacts of these materials therefore more research is needed in this area. Rubber Crumb and synthetic turf in Australia There is little known about the loss of rubber crumb and its potential impacts. That is where AUSMAP has stepped in. Beginning with a collaboration between AUSMAP and Tangaroa Blue as part of the ReefClean Project, rubber crumb loss was assessed at playgrounds in the Great Barrier Reef catchment. More recently, AUSMAP has expanded their program to research the loss of rubber crumb and synthetic grass from synthetic turf fields. During AUSMAPs ongoing efforts, it has become apparent that sustained inputs of synthetic grass and rubber crumb are commonplace in both freshwater and coastal samples in NSW, with potentially significant environmental implications. Community education and empowerment is critical to raise further awareness and make actionable change. AUSMAP is working closely with partners and councils to address key knowledge gaps and evidence is being presented to local, state, and national governments. Rubber Crumb Projects Rubber Crumb Research in QueenslanD Rubber Crumb Research in QueenslanD NSW Findings in Synthetic Turf Research In the Rubber Crumb Loss Report with Tangaroa Blue, cores were collected from distances of 0, 2 and 4 metres from soft fall playground sites along the GBR coast. The estimated total loss for entire playground areas ranged from 22,620 to over 9.7 million rubber pieces. In the study, play area condition and play area cover were evaluated to examine factors that influence rubber crumb loss. Results found that playgrounds greater than 5 years old had significantly higher loss than play areas less than 5 years old. It was also found that areas with full cover and partial cover had significantly lower rubber crumb loss than play areas with no cover. This factor could be due to consistent exposure to high UV levels. NSW Findings in Synthethic Turf Research Poulton Park was raised as an area of concern by the Oatley Flora and Fauna Society. The park consists of two synthetic fields situated next to Poulton Creek, which flows into the Georges River. Community volunteers were trained by the AUSMAP team to follow a similar procedure to the Queensland study. Core samples were taken at three distances (0, 4 and 8 metres) from the sites. Results found that there were approximately 1 million pieces of rubber crumb or synthetic grass coming off those fields. These findings were presented to the local council and are being used to implement mitigation strategies. AUSMAP completed toxicity studies to evaluate the impact of rubber crumb leachate on freshwater and marine species. Rubber crumb was leached for 18 hours. A freshwater water flea as well as larval marine mussel and sea urchin were exposed to diluted concentrations of the leachate. Results found that concentrations of 1-3% affected 50 percent of the populations. This is likely due to concentrations of zinc which were significantly higher than the Australian Water Quality Trigger Value. Although other chemicals such as 6 PPD-q and HMMM were also recorded but further toxicity trials are needed to ascertain their impacts to local aquatic life. Ku-Ring-Gai Recently, AUSMAP has been working with a Sydney Council to quantify microplastic loss from a synthetic turf field and the efficacy of stormwater pit traps to reduce this loss. Results have highlighted that almost 1,000,000 pieces of rubber crumb and synthetic grass were captured in trap samples surrounding the field, representing 83% of the loss. However, sampling of the runoff water into a nearby creek found both crumb and synthetic grass to be prevalent. Key findings from this investigation highlight extreme microplastic loss from this surface that would enter the environment unabated without the presence of stormwater mitigation traps. The full impact of mitigation approaches is yet to be reported - and invariably, to date, are not common practice. Have you noticed rubber crumb pollution near you? Email us below to share your local rubber crumb problem EMAIL HERE RUBBER CRUMB Webinar Watch here A dive into Australia's rubber crumb issu e REFERENCES AUSMAP. (2021, December 1). BREAKING - Rubber Crumb Research released. Ausmap. https://www.ausmap.org/post/rubber-crumb-research-released Chittella, H., Yoon, L. W., Ramarad, S., & Lai, Z.-W. (2021). Rubber waste management: A review on methods, mechanism, and prospects. Polymer Degradation and Stability, 194, 109761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2021.109761 Independent review into the design, use and impacts of synthetic turf in public open spaces Final report. (2022). https://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/54223/CSE-Synthetic-Turf-Review-Final-Report.pdf Li, X., Berger, W., Musante, C., & Mattina, M. I. (2010). Characterization of substances released from crumb rubber material used on artificial turf fields. Chemosphere, 80(3), 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.04.021 Perkins, A. N., Inayat-Hussain, S. H., Deziel, N. C., Johnson, C. H., Ferguson, S. S., Garcia-Milian, R., Thompson, D. C., & Vasiliou, V. (2019). Evaluation of potential carcinogenicity of organic chemicals in synthetic turf crumb rubber. Environmental Research, 169, 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.10.018 Rauert, C., Vardy, S., Daniell, B., Charlton, N., & Thomas, K. V. (2022). Tyre additive chemicals, tyre road wear particles and high production polymers in surface water at 5 urban centres in Queensland, Australia. Science of the Total Environment, 852, 158468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158468 Daniele Coppola, L. M. (2014). Release of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals from Rubber Crumb in Synthetic Turf Fields: Preliminary Hazard Assessment for Athletes. Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology, 05(02). https://doi.org/10.4172/2161-0525.1000265 Schneider, K., de Hoogd, M., Haxaire, P., Philipps, A., Bierwisch, A., & Kaiser, E. (2020). ERASSTRI - European Risk Assessment Study on Synthetic Turf Rubber Infill – Part 2: Migration and monitoring studies. Science of the Total Environment, 718, 137173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137173 SKY NEWS INTERVIEW: https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/sydney-synthetic-sports-fields-exposed-to-toxic-cocktail-of-chemicals-independent-testing-finds/news-story/a83c8638c94e8f6c6dc9c520dc88f8c5 Email info@ausmap.org Follow

Plastic pollution is a global problem. The Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) aims to address this through citizen science by collecting scientifically valid data and designing effective mitigation strategies. It is a fully immersive experience that empowers ambassadors for behaviour change. MEET THE TEAM Jeff Angel Executive Director Dr Scott Wilson Research Director Marijs Vrancken TEC Deputy Director Tayla Shaw Programs and Communications Manager Dr Natasha Franklin Senior Science Officer Dr Gwendolyn Foo Project Officer - Synthetic Turf & Microplastics Em Rogers Events & Engagement Coordinator Dr Michelle Blewitt Former Program Director (from 2018 - January 2025) AMBASSADORS Toni Wilson Sonja Eco Surf Australia Em Bottle Top Hill Dr Trudy Costa Research Associate Karen Lang Kiama Community Group Claire O'Loughlin