Deadline approaching for Mayo volunteers to register for Big Beach Clean
More than 180 volunteers from Mayo are registered and ready to join Clean Coasts for the annual Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean, taking place from September 18 to September 20.
Last year, an estimated 2 tonnes of litter was removed by volunteers in Mayo as part of the Big Beach Clean. This year the organisers want to maximise the positive impact for our coast and inland waterways and encourage beach-lovers nationwide to remove litter and record data on commonly found items.
Supported by Kia Ireland, the Big Beach Clean is an annual call-to-action as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), a global initiative led by Ocean Conservancy to mark the end of the bathing season. In 2025, Big Beach Cleaners were a part of over 630,000 volunteers world-wide that took part in the International Coastal Cleanup.
On a national level over 500 groups registered to host a clean-up in Ireland for the Big Beach Clean 2025, with almost 11,000 volunteers ultimately removing approximately 60 tonnes of litter from our marine environment. This year, Clean Coasts want to continue the coastal care efforts and promote citizen science action through filling out the Big Beach Clean Marine Litter Data Cards.
The event in Mayo invites individuals, families, and communities to come together, clean their local coastline or waterways, and contribute to this global citizen science effort.
With the deadline for registering for the Big Beach Clean fast approaching, this is a final reminder to volunteers in Mayo to sign up before September 7 to avail of a free clean-up kit (while stocks last) and make a positive impact on the Irish coast and waterways.
Upon signing up, participants receive all materials needed to run their beach clean and to record litter data using the Clean Coasts Marine Litter Data Cards or the Clean Swell App, which in turn helps contribute to global marine litter research.
Further information is available here.
By taking part in the Big Beach Clean in and submitting litter data via Marine Litter Data Cards or the Clean Swell app, volunteers contribute to a global initiative tackling marine pollution led by Ocean Conservancy. This data helps shape international policies tackling ocean pollution and has already led to bans on items like plastic bags and straws worldwide. Closer to home, insights gathered through previous Big Beach Cleans have informed key Clean Coasts campaigns such as Bin the Butt and Break Up with Plastic.
The data collected in last year’s Big Beach Clean showed that the five most collected litter items were fishing gear, plastic pieces, microplastics, cigarette butts and food wrappers.