California Trash Monitoring Playbook — Standardized Trash Monitoring Methods

The California Trash Monitoring Playbook is an open-access guidance document published by the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) that synthesizes evaluated trash
monitoring methods and provides a standardized framework for quantifying trash loads and assessing management effectiveness across California’s stormwater systems, waterways,
and coastal environments.

The Playbook is based on multi-season field testing and method comparisons conducted across different regions of California. It evaluates and aligns trash monitoring protocols developed by multiple stormwater programs to support consistent, comparable, and repeatable trash measurements statewide.

Scope and purpose

The California Trash Monitoring Playbook is intended to support public agencies, consultants, non-profits, and watershed groups in:

• Selecting appropriate trash monitoring methods for streams, storm drains, and coastal systems
• Comparing and aligning existing monitoring programs across regions
• Designing monitoring strategies to evaluate management actions and pollution reduction efforts
• Supporting statewide trash assessment and reporting needs

Key strengths

• Validated methods: The Playbook compares multiple trash monitoring approaches using quantitative performance metrics such as accuracy, repeatability, and precision.
• Standardization and comparability: Demonstrates that different protocols can be harmonized to enable statewide assessments.
• Flexible application: Methods are applicable across urban storm drains, streams, rivers, and coastal environments.
• Regulatory relevance: Provides a technical foundation to support trash-related water quality objectives and management decisions.

Limitations and considerations

• The Playbook does not prescribe a single mandatory protocol; users must still select site-appropriate methods based on environmental context and monitoring objectives.
• Environmental variability such as flow conditions, weather, and land use can influence trash detection and measurement.
• The Playbook focuses on macro- and meso-scale trash and does not address microplastics or nanoplastics monitoring.
• Effective implementation requires training, documentation, and consistent QA/QC practices.

The full document is freely available from SFEI:
California Trash Monitoring Methods and Assessments Playbook (PDF).

Related Plastiverse resources

For complementary monitoring approaches, see our resources onMicroplastics sampling and processing guidebooks and riverbank macroplastic monitoring frameworks.

Together with other standardized monitoring resources, the California Trash Monitoring Playbook supports consistent, evidence-based approaches to understanding and reducing trash pollution
across California’s water systems.