Beach Cleans
Help us keep Northern Ireland's beaches beautiful!
Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful carries out quarterly marine litter surveys on 12 beaches across Northern Ireland. To ensure accurate results, each beach is cleaned within two weeks of every survey — helping to prevent any litter from being counted twice in future data collections.
We’re looking for community groups, businesses, and organisations to lend a hand by carrying out beach cleans in January, April, June/July, or September/October. Your support helps keep Northern Ireland’s beaches clean, protects local wildlife, and ensures our marine litter data stays accurate and reliable.
If you’d like to get involved or find out more, please get in touch!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you need volunteer support for beach clean-ups?
Our Local Environmental Quality (LEQ) Team carries out quarterly marine litter surveys on 12 beaches
across Northern Ireland. The data gathered is used to create our annual Marine Litter Report, which
helps us track and understand litter trends along our coastline.
To keep this data accurate, beaches must be cleaned within two weeks of each survey. This prevents litter from being counted twice and keeps our beaches cleaner and more enjoyable for everyone.
By volunteering, your group, business, or organisation can play a direct role in protecting our marine environment — helping to safeguard wildlife and preserve Northern Ireland’s beautiful coastline.
To keep this data accurate, beaches must be cleaned within two weeks of each survey. This prevents litter from being counted twice and keeps our beaches cleaner and more enjoyable for everyone.
By volunteering, your group, business, or organisation can play a direct role in protecting our marine environment — helping to safeguard wildlife and preserve Northern Ireland’s beautiful coastline.
Who can volunteer?
Everyone is welcome! We recommend groups of around 10–20 volunteers for an effective beach clean,
but smaller teams and individuals are just as valuable. Whether you’re part of a corporate team,
community group, school, or family, your effort makes a real difference.
When can I do a beach clean?
We encourage beach cleans to take place after each marine litter survey in January, April, June/July,
and September/October.
To make your clean-up as safe and effective as possible, try to plan it during low tide. You can check local tide times here.
To make your clean-up as safe and effective as possible, try to plan it during low tide. You can check local tide times here.
Which beaches require clean-ups?
The following beaches need to be cleaned after surveys take place in January, April,
June/July, and September/October:
Ardglass — County Down
Ballyhornan — County Down
Ballywalter — County Down
Culmore Point — County Londonderry
Hazelbank — County Antrim
Kilkeel — County Down
Portavogie — County Down
Rathlin — County Antrim
Rostrevor — County Down
Runkerry — County Antrim
Tyrella — County Down
Whitepark — County Antrim
Ardglass — County Down
Ballyhornan — County Down
Ballywalter — County Down
Culmore Point — County Londonderry
Hazelbank — County Antrim
Kilkeel — County Down
Portavogie — County Down
Rathlin — County Antrim
Rostrevor — County Down
Runkerry — County Antrim
Tyrella — County Down
Whitepark — County Antrim
What information do I need to collect during a beach clean?
After your clean-up, please record:
• The date of your beach clean
• The number of volunteers who took part
• The number of bags of rubbish collected
Once complete, email these details to leq@keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org. This helps us measure the impact of your efforts and keep our data up to date.
• The date of your beach clean
• The number of volunteers who took part
• The number of bags of rubbish collected
Once complete, email these details to leq@keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org. This helps us measure the impact of your efforts and keep our data up to date.
Can I borrow equipment?
Yes! Our LEQ team can lend you litter pickers and bags to make your clean-up easier. To arrange this,
email leq@keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org.
What should I do with the rubbish I collect?
In most cases, your local council can arrange to collect the rubbish after your clean-up — just get
in touch with them in advance to confirm. Find the right contact details
here.
Alternatively, you can take the collected waste to your nearest amenity site for proper disposal.
Alternatively, you can take the collected waste to your nearest amenity site for proper disposal.
Ready to get involved?
Get in touch — We’d love to have your support in keeping Northern Ireland’s beaches clean and healthy!
For everything you need to plan safely, check out our litter-picking resources.
For everything you need to plan safely, check out our litter-picking resources.