Monitoring of plastic debris in the lower Citarum River using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Summary

Plastic pollution has become a problem in recent years. Various methods are used to reduce and prevent plastic pollution. Many methods have been used to estimate the abundance and transportation of plastics in waters, especially rivers. This paper presents the use of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to observe plastic waste in river flow. Monitoring plastic debris was conducted at the downstream part of the Citarum river in the Muara Gembong sub-district, Bekasi Regency, West Java Province, on March 6, 8, and 10, 2021. The type of drone used was the DJI Phantom 3 Pro. Data analysis uses the CVAT program developed by Intel to label images. The results show differences between visual counting and UAV, visual counting has a higher value than UAV, but VC might suffer from an observer bias. The counting bias is dependent on the current and the ability of the eye. On the other hand, the results of aerial surveys during the calculation process can be reinterpreted manually or automatically and corrected again. Monitoring plastic debris using UAVs can be an alternative to observing the plastic transportation process in rivers, especially in areas that are difficult to access.