Marine litter continues to inflict enormous damage on Africa's coastlines, particularly in Ghana, whose coastline stretches more than 550 kilometers and is home to an estimated 3 million people. Monitoring marine litter is important for understanding how it impacts the natural environment, for informing national policy, and for building consumer awareness of issues related to the use of plastics.

However, due to the vastness of the oceans, this can prove logistically challenging and expensive. To improve monitoring efforts, new methods are needed to complement traditional data sources like censuses and household surveys.

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