The Great British Beach Clean is a week-long citizen science event, where hundreds of beach cleans take place up and down the UK. Litter data collected drives our conservation work and also feeds into the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC).

This year’s Great British Beach Clean will take place between Friday 17th – Sunday 26th September 2021.

On every clean we ask people to run a litter survey: recording all the items of rubbish they find in a 100m stretch. We use this data to campaign for change.

And we have seen some great results – the plastic bag charge, banning microplastics in personal care products, better wet wipe labelling, and supporting a tax on single-use plastic items.

But there is still so much to do to stop the litter plaguing our beaches.

425 litter items found per 100m of beach surveyed at last year’s Great British Beach Clean

30% of beach cleans last year found face masks and PPE

55% drop in plastic bags found on UK beaches since 5p charge introduced

But it’s not job done. We need to gather more and more data to wage war on other types of beach litter, and you can help.

Want to run your own beach clean event? Find out how to become an organiser

Make 2021 your year to save our seas.

To get involved this year find an event near you – events as a list or on a map. Sign up for the event/s you’d like to attend and the beach clean organiser will be in touch.

The Great British Beach Clean includes the Great Channel Islands Beach Clean and Great Northern Irish Beach Clean.