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
What we do
As well as cleaning the shorelines, Greener Orkney participates in the Scottish Islands Federation’s Marine Litter Surveys four times a year and also publishes the data as part of the Marine Conservation Society.
Greener Orkney was also one of the lead participants in “Bag the Bruck” in 2023 and 2024 and in October 2024 was awarded a grant by Marine Fund Scotland to fulfill two paid roles over the winter months to facilitate the collection and analysis of the marine litter on northern Orkney Isles. We will be publishing progress reports on this project in the “news” section of this website.
We are pleased to work with local organisations and individuals who want to take part in beach cleaning and maintain a stock of litter picking equipment which can be borrowed.
Why are beach cleans important?
Marine litter and particularly plastic waste like rope fragments can be very harmful to animal life and its removal from the beaches will have a positive impact on this serious problem.
What’s more, many beaches are a valuable public recreation space and visitors’ enjoyment will be enhanced by a clean environment.
Data gathering regarding the volume and composition of waste is hugely important as it helps track litter back to source so assists efforts to find solutions to the problem.
Beach Clean totals from December 2021
Date | Location | Total litter (kg) | Volunteers |
---|---|---|---|
November 2024 | Fourth Barrier Warebeth | 132 17 | 8 6 |
October 2024 | Warebeth Westray, Skaill Storehouse south | 14 20 | 4 1 |
September 2024 | Warebeth Westray, Aikerness Fourth barrier Birsay Westray, Quoygrew Scapa beach Westray, Tafts Warebeth Stronsay (3) | 10 102 36 7 62 36 174 20 122 | 3 7 5 2 3 11 1 3 5 |
August 2024 | Warebeth | 16 | 4 |
July 2024 | Houton Scapa beach | 10 3 | 4 2 |
June 2024 | Fourth barrier Warebeth | 60 17 | 4 5 |
May 2024 | Scapa beach | 71 | 12 |
April 2024 | Warebeth Scapa Beach Rack Wick / Breckness Scapa Beach Fourth Barrier | 41 21 130 15 10 | 14 5 8 4 2 |
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 | 3,743 | 512 |
* Weight totals include some large items such as tyres, large nets, feeding pipes etc. where it has been practical to weigh them on site.
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 it 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.