From June 11 to 12, 2025, the technical workshop “Free LitterAT Workshop on Beach Litter Source Identification” was held in Brest, France, organised by Cedre, an international reference center in the fight against accidental water pollution and a key partner in the Free LitterAT project.
The event brought together representatives from several project partners from France, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland, as well as invited experts with extensive experience in marine litter classification and analysis, who provided valuable insights into methodologies for identifying sources of beach litter.
During the workshop, using a methodology proposed by Cedre based on previous studies conducted in the North-East Atlantic, participants were invited to work on a probabilistic identification of geographical sources of marine litter found on five beaches located on the French Atlantic coastline. The work was divided into three main phases:
Discovery of the French Atlantic coastline: participants analysed the environmental and geographical situation of the 5 study beaches,
Characterisation of beach litter: participants observed and analysed the litter collected on the different study beaches,
Identification of probable geographical sources: based on the previous phases, participants assessed the probability of each litter categories coming from different geographical origins.
This workshop marked a key step in the development of a common methodology and knowledge for the transnational analysis of beach litter pollution, in line with the objectives of the Free LitterAT project. The knowledge exchanged during the sessions will enhance understanding of the geographical sources of marine litter and reinforce targeted prevention and reduction efforts.
The Free LitterAT team will continue to work in this area over the coming months, with new field campaigns scheduled and results to be integrated into future project deliverables.
