International Coastal Clean-Up Day 2024

Celebrated annually, the International Coastal Clean-Up Day is an initiative that aims to raise awareness on the problem of marine litter. It is a global event that promotes local clean-up actions on beaches, coastal areas, rivers, lagoons, and other waterways.

In 2024, between the September 21 and 29, more than 220 clean-up actions were organised, with more than 8 thousand registered participants. These initiatives resulted in the collection of more than 48 tonnes of marine litter, involving around 390 organisations from the north to the south Portugal, including Azores and Madeira.

Oceano Azul Foundation congratulates all those who collaborated in this movement –NGOs, citizens’ movements, associations, schools, scouts, diving centers, surf and bodyboard schools, civil society, as well as municipalities, parish councils, and embassies – and who demonstrated a growing concern and environmental awareness.

 

The ocean is global, the action is local!

 

After five editions, the International Coastal Clean-up Day initiative has already involved:

 

+ 400 organisations | 887 actions | 794 km cleaned | + 28 600 volunteers | + 160 tonnes of waste

 

Be part of the change and contribute to protecting the ocean!

 

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Underwater Clean-up

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Underwater Clean-up

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Underwater Clean-up

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Underwater Clean-up

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Underwater Clean-up

  • Coastal Clean-up

  • Underwater Clean-up


  Coastal Clean-up   |     Underwater Clean-up

 

 

Educating for a Blue Generation

Once again, the initiative had a strong participation of students involved in the “Educating for a Blue Generation“, a programme promoted by Oceano Azul Foundation and Oceanário de Lisboa. In total, more than 4 000 students and teachers from 90 schools took part in clean-up actions across the country.

 

Previous editions

From 2019 to 2022, the litter counter indicates that more than 250 tonnes of marine litter have been collected in Portugal, with the involvement of more than 44 000 volunteers in around 1 800 actions.

2023: 10 000 volunteers | 154 Km cleaned | 38.8 tonnes of litter

2022: 8 210 volunteers | 203 Km cleaned | 49.5 tonnes of litter

2021: 4 500 volunteers | 172 Km cleaned | 31 tonnes of litter

2020: 3 600 volunteers | 187 km cleaned | 29 tonnes of litter

2019: +2 300 volunteers | 70 national organisations | 55 beaches

 

Initiative organised in partnership with the European Union as part of the #EUBeachCleanup campaign.