Why Everyone Should Do A Beach Clean

If you follow me across my social media you likely know that I am a huge fan of a beach clean. I have done them across the world from Hawaii to Bali and find them to be one of the most rewarding experiences. This summer I was lucky enough to collaborate with Space NK on their #cleandecoded campaign and host a series of UK beach cleans which were a roaring success.

If you didn’t manage to come along to our beach cleans then I want to share the top four reasons you should get involved in your own. Let’s go:

It saves wildlife.

The plastic which we find on beaches can be consumed by land animals or washed back into the ocean and harm marine life. One million seabirds and 100,000 mammals die a year as a result of marine plastic, by picking it up off the beach we help to reduce the chance of this happening.

It is motivating.

Seeing the impact of our throwaways culture right in front of your eyes will give you the biggest drive to be a part of positive change. You get to experience the impacts of plastic on the natural world first hand and it can be truly eye-opening. Trust me, you’ll never want to have a disposable coffee cup again when you’re picked up fifty on a beautiful beach.

It connects you with like-minded people.

When you clean a beach as a group you get to meet others who are on your wave length. Quite frankly, you can spend time with some amazing proactive humans who give you hope in humanity. Plus when you do a solo beach clean, often people will ask you what you’re doing or even offer to help, which feels equally incredible.

It raises awareness.

Doing a beach clean has the power to influence others. When you’re actually in the process of cleaning up passersby can see your actions and feel inspired to do the same. If you then go one step further and share your experiences online through a photograph you are able to reach even more people with your message. Simply posting a picture of the waste you collected can open other peoples eyes and inspire them to reduce their plastic consumption.

So how do you get involved? 

There are organised beach cleans across the globe. Just research into local initiatives in your area and ask to get involved. It doesn’t need to be that formal though, you can just grab a bag and go solo, picking up plastic on your next beach walk. Then pop your haul in the recycling or landfill depending on whats available to you in your area.  I also hope to organise more beach cleans with Space NK so keep your eyes peeled on my instagram for those!

Zanna xx

Disclaimer: This blog post is produced in collaboration with Space NK.