Case study of
#00095 Organised coastal cleanups with standardized item-level data logging
Global (Ocean Conservancy)
#00088
OngoingGlobal
Implementer
Ocean Conservancy
Timeline
Since Jan 1, 1986
Location
Global (Ocean Conservancy)38.9072, -77.0369
Description
The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), run by Ocean Conservancy since 1986, mobilises volunteers worldwide to clean coasts and waterways while logging every item collected on a standardized data card (now the Clean Swell app). This approach has produced the world's largest marine-debris dataset, which has been used to inform plastic bans, deposit schemes, and producer-responsibility policy. Any replicator can adopt the same item-level logging methodology via the Clean Swell app or paper data cards.
Metrics
3Volunteers since 198619 million+volunteers
Trash collected since 1986400 million+lbs
Volunteers (2024)~486,000volunteers
Lessons learned
- Pairing physical removal with standardized item-level logging (by type, not just weight) transforms a cleanup into a data-collection programme capable of informing upstream policy.
- Coastal cleanups address litter that has already reached the shoreline — they must be paired with upstream source-reduction measures to reduce overall input.
- Analysis of ICC data found approximately 69% of collected single-use plastics were effectively unrecyclable, providing concrete evidence for producer-responsibility arguments.
Sources
2Documented Jun 26, 2026