AMDI Public Welcome

The Australian Marine Debris Database was created to enable volunteers and organisations who were running beach clean up events to also collect data on what they were finding with a consistent methodology so it could be collated into a standardised national database on marine debris.

Since 2004 more than 9.9 million pieces of data have been inputted into the Australian Marine Debris Database, creating a comprehensive overview of what amounts and types of marine debris are impacting beaches around the country.

Submitting Data

The AMDI Database has an open access policy enabling scientists, government agencies, communities and organisations to request data on marine debris in Australia for educational and research purposes. The data submitted is always owned by the contributor, however the Australian Marine Debris Database provides one place for all data to be housed, providing everyone involved in the marine debris issue one place to both access and submit data on marine debris.

Guidelines for submitting data

General

• The Australian Marine Debris Database has been upgraded.
• Please review the AMDI DB User Manual before you use the upgraded database.
• Please also refer to the manual if you get stuck.
• Check your paper copy of the data and make sure all the relevant details have been recorded.
• If submitting data for the first time, navigate your way through the online forms and become familiar with the layout before beginning data entry.
• If you cannot complete your data entry in one sitting your work will be saved automatically and you will be prompted to restore your unfinished work when next logging in.
  
• Your data will be vetted after submission by the TBF data team, they will contact you if they have any queries. This process may take a few days, in which you won’t be able to see the data in the data access page. Please contact us if vetting is urgent.
• If you have problems logging in, please ensure you are using Google Chrome as your internet program.

Your Contact Details

• Once you have registered, your name and contact details will be auto filled into the clean-up submission form.
• Avoid using acronyms or abbreviations when entering an organisation name.
• When entering several organisation names, separate them with a comma.

The Locator Map

• The upgraded database allows you to locate your clean-up site using a map.
• Zoom in as close as you can to the location of your clean-up and then click on the beach to make the marker appear.
• You can also, optionally, draw a polygon around your clean-up site.
• If the location has a pre-existing (preset) site this will show up as a shaded area and you can click within that area to choose the pre-set site.
• Please note that we are still working on pre-existing site mapping and if you are unsure, simply follow the second point above. 

Collection details

• Fill in all the fields.
• There can be only one clean-up entry on any one day for a given site. If your group or class split up and fill in several data sheets for the same site, please consolidate these into one data sheet and then enter the consolidated data.

Entering Your Clean-up Data

• When recording your items, only record the total number for each item. Please do not use these total item fields to record weight.
• Weight should only be recorded as a total weight of all debris in the collection details at the top of the page.
• Use only whole numbers in the total field e.g. for rope, round down to 4 metres if you have 4.5 metres.
• Please do not enter zeros against items. Leave the total field blank if none of the particular item was found.

We thank you for your support and contribution to the Australian Marine Debris Database.

I ACCEPT THE OPEN ACCESS POLICY FOR THE AMDI DATABASE - Click here to submit data to the database

I DO NOT ACCEPT THE OPEN ACCESS POLICY FOR THE AMDI DATABASE - will take you back to our homepage

Data Use Agreement

Our open access policy allows for a specific set of data reports to be generated for community groups, schools and partner organisations to assist in identifying marine debris trends and creating local source reduction plans.

Data owners can request a full download of their data by contacting TBF.
For any other purpose or for custom datasets a Custom Dataset Request Form must be submitted to our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If a substantial dataset is required, please contact TBF to discuss your proposal.

When any data is used publicly for any purpose both the Australian Marine Debris Initiative and the data contributor must be acknowledged. This information is available by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with both the location and date of the data being requested.

We have recently upgraded the Australian Marine Debris Database and recommend you refer to the AMDI DB User Manual for an overview of the public data access page.

I ACCEPT THIS DATA USE AGREEMENT FOR THE AMDI DATABASE - click here to go to the report page

I DO NOT ACCEPT THIS DATA USE AGREEMENT FOR THE AMDI DATABASE - will take you back to our homepage

Upgrades to the AMDI Database were undertaken in collaboration with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority through Reef Trust, and updates to the microplastics section of the AMDI Database were undertaken in collaboration with Sustainability Victoria. We thank both these organisations for their support!