Cleanup Data

We have cleaned beaches with the community since 2001 to reduce litter entering the ocean and protect marine life. Volunteers of all ages tally items as they collect them from the beach, and this data is used to prevent future pollution.

Learn about what litter we find on the beach during cleanups in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Did we clean your favorite beach in 2023?

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Download a two-page summary of our 2023 Beach Cleanup Results (PDF file)

What is marine litter/debris?

Marine debris, also known as marine litter, refers to the human-made items on a beach or in the ocean that do not belong in nature. These items were “lost” to nature in one of these ways:

  • Blown away by the wind from a hand, car, bag, or trash bin
  • Left behind on the beach
  • Washed into a river or stream, which all lead to the ocean
  • Accidentally fell off a boat or shipping vessel
  • Washed out of a landfill that does not effectively contain waste
  • Illegally dumped into the ocean or another waterway

You will find examples of marine debris items in the Total Cleanup Tally data table below. We tally how many of these items we find during our cleanups so we can better understand marine debris on our beaches and how we can prevent it.

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Why is it important?

Litter travels the world through waterways. All rivers and streams eventually lead to the ocean. Once in the ocean, litter travels the world through ocean currents. Marine life comes in contact with litter on shore and in the open ocean, where they can ingest it or become entangled in it. 

Marine litter is made up of many different materials, which each break down differently once they land in nature. Paper, metal, and glass are materials that break down into something that belongs in nature. These materials return to nature, and nature’s systems function normally with theses materials present. However, this is not true of plastic. Plastic is a material that does not break down completely in nature, nor does it become something that belongs in nature.

Plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, which eventually become microscopic. Scientific research shows that the chemical bonds that make up plastic cannot break down, so plastic cannot transform into another material, or biodegrade. These microplastics cycle through nature’s systems. They flow through waterways, are consumed by humans and animals, and move through our food webs. If you’re curious about how long certain materials and objects take to decompose, find some examples in this article.

2023 Cleanup Findings

In 2023, we conducted a total of 348 cleanups at 44 different cleanup sites with the help of 4,145 volunteers! Together, we collected 162,005 debris items weighing over 7,500 pounds! 

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The Total Cleanup Tally

This is the total number of debris items found from most items to least items! Are you surprised by any of these?

Cigarette butts/filters27,839
Other items not on list19,210
Plastic pieces (5mm-2.5cm)9,675
Plastic Wrappers9,462
Rope scraps (smaller than 1 m/yd.)9,440
Plastic pieces (5mm or less)9,287
Other unk. plastic (larger than 10 cm)8,811
Plastic pieces (2.5cm-10cm)7,211
Plastic Bottle caps5,520
Film (thin/flexible e.g. straw wrapper)3,964
Foam pieces (5mm or less)3,869
Foam pieces (5mm-2.5cm)3,675
Lobster bands3,499
Other metal2,731
Glass pieces (5mm-2.5cm)2,546
Packing material2,534
Zip ties (cable ties)2,402
Rope (larger than 1 meter/yard)2,300
Foam pieces (2.5cm-10cm)2,251
Straws2,085
Beverage cans2,033
Glass pieces (5mm or less)1,737
Other glass1,644
Personal hygiene items1,642
Traps/pot pieces (Not removed from beach)1,450
Plastic food containers1,397
Metal Bottle caps1,297
Grocery bag1,131
Glass pieces (2.5cm-10cm)1,122
Plastic beverage bottles1,053
Bag (zip-lock, produce, other)994
Fishing line932
Trash Bag822
Glass beverage bottles755
Foam cups658
Nets (incl. bait bags)563
Plastic non-beverage containers/bottles545
Foam food containers454
Strapping bands (open)410
Dog Poop (Bagged)337
Floats/Buoys326
Balloons (Latex)280
Strapping bands (closed)225
Dog Poop (Un-Bagged)224
Balloons (Mylar)149
Hooksett disks72
Syringes57

Single-Use Plastics

Single-use plastics amount to about 70,000 of the items collected from the beach in 2023. They make up 45% of litter items collected. 

What can you do about it?

  • Eliminating unnecessary plastics from your lifestyle will reduce your contributions to marine litter. What reusable, non-plastic, or thrifted items could you use to replace the single-use items in your life? Choose one item at a time, and try to find a replacement that fits your lifestyle.
  • A source of marine litter is trash lost to the environment from our trash bins at home, particularly during windy, rainy storms and from landfills. Using trash and recycle bins with secure lids is another way to reduce the amount of marine litter in the ocean.
  • Join a Cleanup Now

New Hampshire Cleanups

Through 283 cleanups conducted in New Hampshire, we collected about 134,100 items weighing over 6,000 pounds. Check out the sites we cleaned below. 

Our four most-cleaned beaches were Hampton Beach, Foss Beach, Jenness Beach, and Peirce Island. 

NH BeachCleanup CountAdult VolunteersChildren VolunteersNumber of Debris ItemsTotal Pounds
Hampton Beach921,01943168,8351,154
Foss Beach322612812,8491,213
Jenness Beach20251227,609326
Pierce Island20199309,0664,28
Odiorne Point State Park17210319,167568

Top Litter Items Collected in New Hampshire

 NH Top 10Count
1Cigarette butts/filters22,630
2Other items not on list16,480
3Rope scraps (smaller than 1yd)8,267
4Plastic pieces (5mm – 2.5cm)8,099
5Wrappers7,800
6Plastic pieces (5mm or less)7,539
7Other unknown plastic (larger than 10cm)7,320
8Plastic pieces (2.5 cm-10cm)5,249
9Plastic bottle caps4,499
10Foam pieces (5mm or less)3,339

Maine Cleanups

We conducted 50 cleanups in Maine with the help of 563 volunteers at 14 different sites. We removed 20,605 pieces of debris weighing 1,326.9 pounds! 

Maine Sites Cleaned

Long Sands Beach and East End Beach were the most-cleaned beaches in Maine.

Looking to protect marine ecosystems in Maine? We are looking for folks to adopt beaches in Maine in 2023!

Top Litter Items Collected in Maine

 

  ME Top 10 Count
1 Cigarette butts/filters 4,505
2 Other items not on list 2,028
3 Other unknown plastic (larger than 10cm) 1,419
4 Plastic wrappers 1,206
5 Plastic pieces (5mm-2.5cm) 1,135
6 Plastic pieces (2.5cm-10cm) 1,078
7 Plastic pieces (5mm or less) 981
8 Foam pieces (5mm-2.5cm) 970
9 Rope scraps (smaller than 1 yd) 862
10 Foam pieces (2.5cm-10cm) 622

Massachusetts Cleanups

We conducted 20 cleanups in Massachusetts with the help of 107 volunteers at 5 different sites. We removed 7,268 pieces of debris weighing 245.2 pounds! 

Massachusetts Sites Cleaned

Top Litter Items Collected in Massachusetts

  MA Top 10 Count
1 Plastic pieces (2.5cm-10cm) 881
2 Other items not on list 702
3 Cigarette butts/filters 685
4 Other unknown plastic (larger than 10cm) 592
5 Plastic bottle caps 550
6 Plastic wrappers 457
7 Plastic pieces (5mm-2.5cm) 439
8 Plastic pieces (5mm or less) 326
9 Rope scraps (smaller than 1yd) 307
10 Foam pieces (5mm-2.5cm) 258

 

This data is intended for educational purposes only. Raw data is available upon request.

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Thank you to our dedicated volunteers for their commitment to clean beaches and healthy marine ecosystems.

We would like to thank these agencies and sponsors for their continued support of this cleanup and marine debris monitoring program.