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The data we collect together gives us a good picture of where the plastic waste ends up in the canal. Not only do we want to monitor how this is transported through the water, but we also want to remove it. That's why you can now donate for a new canoe fleet!

Although the municipality regularly fishes waste out of the water with their shovel boat, it is difficult to collect in some parts of the canals. Which means there is still a lot of waste floating. Collecting waste from canoes lends itself well for this purpose. That is why a few years ago the Taskforce Litter Fishing was set up by Onder Water in Leiden. Through this initiative, dozens of volunteers clean the canals using canoes. After years of loyal service, these canoes are in need of replacement and we would like to renew and expand the fleet for this project via our crowdfunding.

Data collection
As of April, we will again go litter fishing with volunteers. This is an ideal way to discover Leiden from the water, contribute to a cleaner city ánd science. At the moment we are investigating the best method to collect data about the waste we remove from the canal.

Second-hand canoes
If possible, we try to find second-hand canoes. If you have a tip, please let us know at plasticspotter@gmail.com. We're looking for canoes like the red one on the picture below: spacious floor area, flat bottom, can take some bumping and most important: very stable.

Recycling
We're also going to try to recycle the old canoes! For this, we are looking for contact with maker spaces and plastic recycling workshops. If you have a good tip for this, we would love to hear from you.