Beach Cleans
Greener Orkney organises regular beach cleans at sites across Mainland. From May to August we only clean specific areas to avoid disturbing nesting birds.
Total amount of beach litter gathered to date
Volunteers involved
kg of rubbish removed
Why are beach cleans important?
As well as cleaning the beaches, Greener Orkney participates in the Scottish Islands Federation’s Marine Litter Surveys four times a year. This data is hugely important as it helps track litter back to source so assists in finding solutions to the problem.
We also publish our data as part of the Marine Conservation Society.
Beach Clean totals from December 2021
| Date | Location | Total litter (kg) | Volunteers |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | Houton Scapa Beach | 28 89 | 4 14 |
| February 2024 | Warebeth Scapa Beach Warebeth Fourth barrier | 33 97 3 50 | 10 11 2 3 |
| January 2024 | Warebeth Bay of Skaill | 26 2 | 5 1 |
| December 2023 | Fourth barrier | 34 | 3 |
| November 2023 | Warebeth Bay of Skaill Scapa Beach Fourth Barrier Warebeth Birsay | 24 3 9 26 20 28 | 7 2 5 5 2 10 |
| October 2023 | Aikerness | 12 | 2 |
| September 2023 | Bay of Skaill Dingieshowe Fourth barrier | 21 13 28 | 4 6 4 |
| August 2023 | Birsay Scapa Beach Bay of Skaill | 11 16 2 | 5 2 3 |
| July 2023 | Scapa Beach | 16 | 2 |
| May 2023 | TBC | 22 | 5 |
| April 2023 | Evie Sandwick, South Rondaldsay Warebeth Scapa Beach | 4 35 163 39 | 3 6 40 6 |
| March 2023 | Fourth barrier Dingieshowe Bay of Skaill | 45 25 86 | 7 6 8 |
| February | Scapa Beach Netherton Road End Holm Scapa Beach | 40 12 18 198 | 10 2 3 40 |
| January 2023 | Birsay Bay of Skaill Warebeth | 39 20 13 | 20 4 3 |
| December 2022 | Fourth barrier | 58 | 5 |
| November 2022 | Warebeth | 35 | 3 |
| October 2022 | Scapa Beach | 49 | 10 |
| August 2022 | Fourth barrier | 240 | 11 |
| July 2022 | Stromness | 25 | 7 |
| April 2022 | Houton Head | 309 | 11 |
| March 2022 | Warebeth | 188 | 18 |
| February 2022 | Newark Bay (Deerness) | 125 | 22 |
| January 2022 | Houton Beach | 207 | 20 |
| December 2021 | Bay of Skaill | 11 | 7 |
| Totals to date | 2,596 | 319 |
* Weight collected includes non-bagged items such as tyres, large nets etc.
Upcoming Events
Greener Orkney (SC049148) undertakes regular beach cleans.
We have litter picking equipment available for people to borrow and also are undertaking Marine Conservation Society beach litter surveys.
We would love if you could make it along. Please email us: greenerorkney@gmail.com or message us on Facebook.
We recommend you check social media close to each date just in case of last minute changes
Help make a difference
Greener Orkney also offers beach cleaning equipment to people who do their own beach cleans. If you are interested in helping or need any beach cleaning equipment do join us as a member and contact us on greenerorkney@gmail.com.
“Before” and “after” views – 42kg of mainly plastic waste removed.
