Case study of
#00095 Organised coastal cleanups with standardized item-level data logging
Global (Ocean Conservancy, Washington D.C., USA)
#00107
OngoingGlobal
Implementer
Ocean Conservancy
Timeline
Since Jan 1, 1986
Location
Global (Ocean Conservancy, Washington D.C., USA)38.9072, -77.0369
Description
Since 1986, Ocean Conservancy has run annual International Coastal Cleanup events in which volunteers log every collected item by type on standardized data cards. This builds a longitudinal, globally comparable marine-debris database used to identify litter hotspots and supply evidence for upstream policy interventions (bans, deposit schemes, producer responsibility). The model is replicable at any scale by adopting the same standardized data card or app format.
Metrics
3Volunteers since 198619 million+people
Trash collected since 1986400 million+lbs
Volunteers in 2024~486,000people
Lessons learned
- Standardised item-level data logging turned a volunteer cleanup into the world's largest marine-debris dataset, giving the effort policy weight beyond the trash removed.
- Item-composition data revealed a recyclability crisis: a large majority of collected items were effectively non-recyclable, a finding that would not have emerged from weight-only logging.
- Cleanups address litter at the coastal sink, not inland or at-sea sources, so they must be paired with upstream prevention measures to achieve systemic impact.
Sources
2Documented Jun 26, 2026