Marine Litter Report

Since 2012 Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful has run a programme that collects information about litter on beaches around Northern Ireland. After four surveys are completed throughout the year, this data becomes our Marine Litter Report, which subsequently goes on to inform the Northern Ireland Marine Litter Strategy that aims to tackle the scourge. 

Sadly, marine litter is not just a local problem. Plastic bottles and other buoyant litter are often pushed by wind and tides far from where they enter the sea and, prior to that, long distances away from where they were dropped by inconsiderate behaviour. The reality is that marine litter enters our seas in ways that are just as varied as its impacts on wildlife in the sea and humans when it washes up on our shores. As such, the survey findings are fed into the International OSPAR Commission database, where they help in developing a global scientific understanding of the significant problem and initiating actions to progress its solution.

The Marine Litter Report is generously supported by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful also takes the opportunity to thank the volunteers who both help to gather the data for each year’s report and take part in the beach clean-up efforts that follow.

The Latest Report