Inside the Beach Cleanup Movements Making a Real Difference

As avid beachgoers, we are adamant about protecting our shores and waterways. Not only does a clean coastline help create a better beach experience for us when we visit, but it also helps the native plants and animals that call the beach and oceans home. It’s our duty to be good stewards and do our part to help take care of the beaches we call home, as well as those we visit. 

In addition to making good choices on an individual level, such as packing in and packing out during our days at the beach, there are also organizations that are creating beach cleanup movements on a large scale. These organizations are making a real difference and offer opportunities for volunteers to join in their efforts and become a part of the beach cleanup movement as well. 

This initiative started more than three decades ago, and holds the Guinness World Record for “Largest Annual Coastal Cleanup Project.” Ocean Conservancy International coordinates this global cleanup effort, and has had over 19 million volunteers since its inception. Their organized effort is making a big difference for our beaches and waterways, and they’ve been responsible for picking up more than 400 million pounds of trash. 

There are ways that you can get involved with this amazing organization, too. Check out the map of their worldwide cleanups and see if there are any located near you. You can also help by tracking trash that you pick up on your own, even if it’s not a part of one of their organized cleanups. The free Clean Swell app offers an interactive way for you to log every piece of trash you collect. That data helps scientists, but it’s also fun to be able to track how much rubbish you’re keeping off beaches, and is a great way to actually see the difference you’re making. 

The Surfrider Foundation has 80 chapters throughout the United States. This organization works diligently to help beach destinations with issues related to plastic reduction, ocean protection, beach access, coasts and climate, and clean water. They serve as advocates for our beaches and lead numerous campaigns, including one to reauthorize the BEACH Act which helps monitor water quality testing. 

They offer ways for you to help with their efforts, too. Their Better Beach Alliance that’s done in partnership with REEF hosts ongoing beach cleanups all throughout coastal areas in the United States and you can easily sign up as a volunteer. They also offer a way for you to record the amount of trash you pick up, too – even if you go out solo. You can download their data card and document the trash that you find on the beach. That is critical information that helps them when they are trying to fight for laws that help prevent trash on the beaches (such as plastic reduction laws). 

This organization is proof that anyone can make a difference when it comes to protecting our beaches and oceans. It was started by two surfers who simply wanted to keep plastic out of the ocean. The dedication of these two friends turned into something much bigger and their work is now responsible for getting millions of pounds of trash off of the beach and out of the waterways. 

4ocean offers a way for you to help with their plastic cleanup movement without actually going out to clean up rubbish. They actually hire crews to remove trash from oceans and beaches. Their employees are compensated to take plastic out of the ocean, and they offer subscriptions for their Plastic Offset Program that help cover the costs of this. Let’s face it, even with a strategic effort to minimize single-use plastics in our daily lives, we as consumers likely have some that we’re still using. The subscription plans are a way to balance out your plastic footprint. For each pound of plastic you use, they remove a pound of plastic from the ocean. 

The Ocean Cleanup is another non-profit group that is determined to remove plastic from the ocean. Their mission is clear—they aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution by 2040. While some organizations are focused on cleaning up the trash that ends up on the beach, it doesn’t all end up there. Some plastics accumulate into large gyres, or patches, of floating trash. 

One of the biggest efforts of The Ocean Cleanup involves cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This massive chunk of floating plastic is located between Hawaii and California. By their estimation, this patch of trash is twice the size of Texas and three times the size of France. That’s a lot of trash! The Ocean Cleanup has removed tons of waste from this area, though, and continues to persevere in its mission. You can help, too. They need citizen scientists to help track plastic in oceans and rivers, since debris from there can make its way to the ocean. Download the free Ocean Cleanup Survey app to help with their data collection. 

The oceans provide not only a home to an array of marine life but also endless opportunities for recreation, including diving. The Professional Association of Diving (PADI) has created the PADI AWARE Foundation as its ocean conservation initiative. Through that movement, they are helping protect the oceans and keep them clean. 

One of their impactful programs is called Dive Against Debris. This effort involves removing trash, but information on trash that’s removed from the ocean is also critical to their efforts. They encourage divers to submit a survey to help them have information that can be used by ocean researchers. That information can be helpful to have when they’re working to fight for policies that protect oceans as well. PADI offers a Dive Against Debris specialty course that divers can take to earn an official certification.  

Not all beach cleanup movements need to be conducted on a national or international level. Local-level initiatives are just as critical to keeping our beaches and oceans healthy and pristine. Heal the Bay is a great example of that, helping protect the coastal waters around Los Angeles, California. 

Their annual Coastal Cleanup Day makes a huge impact. Last year’s event had over 6,000 volunteers. Collectively, they removed 19,139 pounds of trash and 610 pounds of recyclable materials from 70 different sites. The organization also hosts ongoing “Nothin’ But Sand Beach Cleanups” throughout the year. They encourage volunteers to use the free Clean Swell or Debris Tracker apps, or fill out one of their cleanup data cards. Overall, they’ve documented more than four million pieces of trash that have been cleaned up by their volunteers. 

The team at Beach.com is also fully committed to protecting the world’s coastlines. As beach enthusiasts ourselves, we understand the importance of doing our part to keep local beaches clean. That means being a good steward when we’re enjoying local beaches, but it also means supporting local groups who are going above and beyond to help clean up beaches in their own areas. Check out our list of local cleanups to see if there are any taking place near you. 

We’ve supported several organizations with local cleanups in their respective beach destinations, including: 

If you’re a beach-lover like us who wants to make a real difference, we’ll help you organize a local beach cleanup in your area. It’s super easy!

These are just a few of the great organizations that are making a difference. We want to send a sincere thanks to everyone who is doing their part to keep our beaches clean, though. Together, we can help keep our beaches healthy for generations to come.