Spotter’s Guide to Plastic Pollution

Burnt film plastic; Thread plastic; thin

edges are uneven and with no cellular
‘stringy’ from melting texture; frays are even
(plastic bag) (nylon rope)

Microbead; small,
perfectly spherical,
Foam plastic; a soft ‘pellet’
often found in groups,
that bounces back when
sometimes brightly
pressed with tweezers (ex.
coloured (cosmetics/
polystyrene, polyethalene)
toothpaste)

Clear and green film

Green plastic fragment;
plastic; bends but
a ‘shaved’ piece of a
doesn’t break, has sharp,
larger item; frays are
straight edges
even, shiney; piece
(ex. polyethylene or
flexes but does not
polypropylene)
break (fragments can
be PET, HDPE, LDPE,
Green plastic fragment; PVC, PP, PS plastics or
hard, does not bend but others)
flexes slightly, as
hard/straight edges Clear plastic fragment;
too even to be a rock; has
Industrial production a duller sound than a rock
pellet (“nurdle”); when tapped
spherical like a bead White plastic fragment;
without a hole, ‘stained’ with crackle erosion pattern
brown from being in the
water for a long time Microfiber. Use a hot needle test to see if it’s
plastic or cotton: hold a needle under a
flame, then touch it to the fiber. Melts/
shrinks = plastic, burns = cotton.

Developed by Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR) https://civiclaboratory.nl

Spotter’s Guide to Plastic Pollution: non-plastics

Aquatic plant matter: may

look like plastic when wet,
but dries hard and brittle. Rocks: Very smooth or
light passes through
unevenly; sinks in
Plant matter: smooth water; sounds different
edges, frays are uneven than plastic when
and organic-looking, tapped
cellular structure
sometimes visible. Crab part: two sides
are very different,
organic patterns on
Paper: when dry, feels one side.
like paper; fibers burn
instead of melt, pulls Cotton string: Threads
apart when wet. are tiny and uneven;
burns instead of shrinks
or melts with hot needle
Shell test

Shells: smooth without

plastic-like facturing or
grooves; pitting is regular; two
sides often very different;
Seeds and fish eye lenses: often
makes a light clinking sound
perfectly round, but have ridges,
when tapped.
furrows or linear marks going from
pole to pole; has a different center Glass: Has very straight edges; clinks
when split open (plastics would be like glass when tapped.
more uniform).

Developed by Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR) https://civiclaboratory.nl