Source to Sea Litter Quest

What is Source to Sea Litter Quest?

Every year, thousands of people head to the coast to take part in a beach clean and record what they find there. But if you don't live near the sea, you can still make a difference to the health of our ocean by recording the litter you see in your local area.

80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources finding its way into streams, rivers or drains and ending up in the ocean, where it causes problems for ecosystems and sea life.

As part of our inland litter cleans, we use the data you collect to track rubbish back to its source. Your survey results are then used to find solutions to ocean pollution and to campaign for measures to bring positive change.

Taking part is simple and you can conduct a clean at any time of year. You can make a difference wherever you are in the UK.

How to take part

Before heading out to conduct your survey, check out our handy risk assessments to help you stay safe. If you are leading a group, we've put together a handy guide to help you run a litter pick.

Source to Sea guide

In order to be covered by our insurance event organisers must make time for appropriate planning, risk assessment and minimisation prior to their event.

Source to Sea risk assessment

Public liability insurance

Parental consent form

There are 15 items to look out for when you head out on your litter quest.

Source to Sea litter items

Taking part is simple:

Download and print our Source to Sea Litter Quest form. We have also created a simplified recording form, with clear line drawings of each item, which are easy to print for larger groups.

Source to Sea recording form

2. Head to your local park, street or river and record which litter items you spot there - keep a tally of how many you find. If you are taking part with younger children, you can tick the form instead.

3. If it is safe to, and the litter is on public land, you can either take the rubbish home with you or arrange uplift of litter with the local council - remember to recycle it wherever possible

4. Submit your litter data. If you prefer, you can email us a photo or scan of your form to beachwatch@mcsuk.org

5. When you have finished your event, if would be great to have any feedback on any hazards to help us improve the safety of litter clean ups. Please complete the section on the form.

Why your help matters

All of the data you collect on the beach, on your street or in a local park helps us campaign for change to protect our ocean.

Letting balloons go and setting off sky lanterns may seem like a bit of harmless fun, but what happens when they float out of your sight and disappear from your thoughts? They land somewhere – either intact or in bits with their trailing strings and plastic ties.

Over the past 5 years, we've found on average 3 balloons per 100m during our Great British Beach Clean!

Councils all around the UK got involved in our ‘Don’t let go’ campaign and voted to ban outdoor balloon and sky lanterns releases.

During last year’s Great British Beach Clean we found an average of 30 drinks-related litter items, like plastic bottles or drinks cans, for every 100m of beach surveyed. These items were also found on 99% of inland cleans.

We’re campaigning for deposit return schemes across the UK. These schemes mean you pay a small deposit on these items when you buy them, then when you return it to be recycled, you get your money back.

In April 2024, all four nations committed to introducing Deposit Return Schemes by October 2027 for metal and plastic drinks containers.

There have already been major delays to the schemes’ introduction – and we need to keep up the pressure to make sure DRS becomes a reality in all four nations by the deadline in 2027.

We’ve used data collected in previous years to make the case for carrier bag charges across the UK. Wales introduced charges in 2011 followed by Scotland in 2014 and England in 2015.

We know policies like carrier bag charges work. Since their introduction across the UK, we’ve seen a 61% drop (2011-2021) in the number of plastic bags we’re finding on beaches. The more data we collect, the more policies we can push for to make beach and ocean pollution a thing of the past.

With 14 million single-use vapes sold each month in the UK, many are ending up littered on our streets where they pollute the environment, making their way into rivers and eventually, the ocean.

We know that disposable vapes are polluting our streets, parks, rivers and beaches. By taking part, you’re helping to gather data which acts as evidence to show just how much of a problem disposable vapes are for our environment.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand a single wet wipe can make such a big impact hundreds of miles away. But each year we find evidence of the impact of a single flush on our beaches and in our coastal waters. We found sewage-related items like wet wipes on 72% of UK beaches in 2023 and these are consistently found in the top 10 most common litter items on Scottish beaches.

Many wet wipes contain plastic fibres which break down into microplastics and become harmful to marine animals. The UK officially passed legislation banning the sale and supply of wet wipes containing plastic in England and will come into force in May 2027.

Submit your Source to Sea survey

We know that the rubbish dropped in the street can find its way to the beach and pollute the ocean. All of the data you collect on your clean helps us campaign for change.

Submit