Do Beach Cleanups Really Work?

This blog was written by Hannah De Frond. Hannah works with Ocean Conservancy and the University of Toronto Trash Team to manage the International Trash Trap Network (ITTN), a global network of local groups using trash traps to increase cleanup efforts, engage communities and inform upstream solutions. 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to solving the plastic pollution crisis. In addition to preventative actions like reducing plastic production and improving waste management systems, cleanups play a valuable role—and the greatest impacts to reduce plastic pollution will be achieved when all three of these strategies happen together. With Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup^® (ICC) season fast approaching, there’s no better time to remind ourselves of the positive impact of cleanup efforts around the world.

The scopes, types and sizes of cleanups vary widely. The ICC focuses on global-scale, human-powered, volunteer-led events that can range from just a couple of people picking up trash in their local park or beach to large groups of hundreds of people coming together for an event. Other types of cleanups, such as those used by groups in the International Trash Trap Network (ITTN), rely on a variety of cleanup technologies that can capture debris 24 hours a day. The ITTN is a global network of local groups working together to increase plastic pollution cleanup efforts using trash traps. Through each trash trap program, local stakeholders come together to clean up plastic pollution, engage and inform communities about the issue, and collect harmonized data to inform, empower and motivate upstream solutions to prevent future plastic pollution.

Cleanup technologies like trash traps also come in lots of different shapes and sizes. One of the key benefits of employing these devices is that they can be used to support volunteer-powered cleanups by accessing areas that are unsafe or inaccessible for humans. Some trash traps are also designed to clean up small plastic waste, such as microplastics, that manual cleanups often miss as they are difficult to see and pick up by hand. As all types of cleanups remove harmful debris (including plastics) from the environment, they all have value and make a positive contribution to the health of our ocean and our planet.

Up to 23 million metric tons of plastic waste are estimated to enter global aquatic ecosystems annually. This massive amount is expected to more than double by 2030 if we don’t change our relationship with plastic. Plastic waste persists for many years and breaks apart over time, eventually forming smaller and smaller pieces such as microplastics and nanoplastics that are notoriously difficult, if not impossible, to remove once they reach waterways, coasts or the ocean.

The impacts of plastic pollution on ocean animals are widespread. To date, roughly 1,300 ocean species have been documented to ingest plastic. In particular, all seven species of sea turtles are known to ingest or become entangled in plastic, and more than half of marine mammal species, including whales and seals, also ingest plastic debris. Cleanups are necessary to reduce these animals’ chances of ingesting plastic which harms, or even kills, them.

By collecting data on the debris we collect, we can better understand local pollution sources which helps inform and prioritize specific solutions. We have seen this firsthand with ICC data that records counts, weights and categories of items removed. In 2022, data collected during the ICC were used to highlight the presence of single-use plastics in the environment, informing successful legislation in California (Senate Bill 54), creating targets for reducing single-use plastic, increasing recycling and improving recyclability of packaging and plastic foodware.

Cleanup data can also identify and trends in pollution over time and measure the effectiveness of specific policies aimed at reducing that pollution. For example, a trash trap in Baltimore named Mr. Trash Wheel captures and diverts plastic waste before it reaches the Baltimore Harbor. Each time Mr. Trash Wheel is emptied, data are collected on the weight and count of items it has retrieved. When polystyrene foam items were found in high numbers in Mr. Trash Wheel, activists used those data to inform a ban, passed in 2019, on disposable polystyrene foam products in Baltimore. In the next year, data from Mr. Trash Wheel revealed that foam containers had decreased by more than 80% in the harbor! By using data locally and sharing it through public platforms like Ocean Conservancy’s global database, TIDES, it be used by many groups for different needs, including scientific research and motivating policy change. To date, ICC data has been used in more than 40 published scientific studies and has been cited by more than 250 papers. In addition, these data have served as the backbone of policies enacted by governments throughout the world.

Cleanups are also a great way to create community and inspire hope by gathering with others who share the same passion. Involvement in cleanup efforts allows individuals to encounter the problems caused by plastic pollution firsthand, and often this experience empowers people to call for upstream solutions.

Cleaning up is a longstanding practice in many communities worldwide. By continuing cleanup efforts around the world and using them for both data collection and community education, we can reduce the impacts of existing plastic pollution while supporting other strategies to prevent it in the future. Alongside cleanups, Ocean Conservancy is working hard to keep plastics out of our ocean by pushing for policies to produce and use fewer plastics and improve the collection and management of the plastics we do use. It’s clear there’s much more work to be done to protect our ocean, and it will take all of us to tackle this issue through both individual action to reduce plastic pollution and using our voices to support policies that will drive the change we need—at the local, state and national levels.

Be sure to join Ocean Conservancy this September for the 40^th ICC this year and other events all year round. Find an International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) event near you, download the Clean Swell^® app to record the trash you collect, and take action for a cleaner ocean and healthier planet.