Beachwatch 2025: What you found

Across the UK and Channel Islands, more than 14,000 volunteers came together to remove over 600,000 litter items from our coastline.

They completed more than 1,100 litter surveys, providing vital data about the types and sources of litter polluting our shores. Find out what this year’s results tell us and the actions we’re taking to secure policy changes across the UK that will help clean up our beaches, for good.

If you want to check it out for yourself, why not take a look at our Beachwatch data dashboard?

2025 saw 3,763 volunteers conduct 410 beach litter surveys in Scotland, helping us build a better picture of the litter polluting its beaches so we can effectively campaign for change to reduce it.

There was a 23% decrease in litter compared to 2024, with 385,551 litter items picked up on Scottish beaches, equating to an average of 157 items per 100m.

Wet wipes

14,130 wet wipes were picked up in Scotland in 2025 and were found on 40% of beaches surveyed. Wet wipes are still a major problem in certain areas of Scotland, so we were delighted to see the regulations laid in Holyrood to ban plastic in single-use wet wipes in February 2026. We’re continuing to call on the Scottish Government to phase out other single-use plastic sanitary items and provide further support for reusable options.

To help reduce sewage-related litter we have also been calling for better monitoring of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). In 2025, coverage of monitored CSOs increased slightly from 32% to 35%, supported by enhancements to Scottish Water’s near real-time Overflow Map which has built on the progress in 2024. Although we welcome this increase, we need to see 100% of CSOs monitored, with targets to reduce the number of times they discharge into the environment to help reduce sewage-related litter.

As part of our Scottish Manifesto ahead of the Scottish Elections in May, we are calling for the next Scottish Government to make clean water a national priority by introducing a Water Bill within the first 12 months of the next parliamentary session.

Fishing gear and aquaculture equipment

We have been continuing to work closely with the Scottish Islands Federation on monitoring fishing and aquaculture litter, including a new ID guide to help improve the accuracy of Beachwatch data. We have also been trialling a specific form for fishing and aquaculture litter to complement the Beachwatch surveys so we can gather more accurate data on the types of gear washing up across the Scottish Islands.

Since we started working together in 2022, the number of surveys completed by island communities has increased by 166%. The data collected shows that there are differences in the types of litter that island communities face compared to those on the mainland, highlighting the need for policy interventions on the types of litter that affect different locations. In 2025, fishing gear and aquaculture equipment made up 34% of all litter collected on Scottish Islands, compared to only 9% on mainland beaches.

We will continue to use this data to raise awareness of the true impact that marine litter is having on island communities and the need for funding to support further clean-up activity across coastal communities.

We presented these findings at multiple conferences in 2025 and have included calls for action in our Scottish Manifesto for Scottish ports and harbours to provide free, standardised waste reception facilities for fishing gear, with equivalent measures for aquaculture sites and gear.

Circular Economy

Thanks to advocacy, which Beachwatch data supported, the Scottish Parliament passed the Circular Economy Act in 2024 and consulted on a Circular Economy Strategy last year, taking vital steps towards a reusable society and moving away from a single-use and throwaway society.

Although the amount of drinks-related litter recorded on Scotland’s beaches decreased by 29% compared to 2024, with 12 items found per 100m, this type of litter was still found on 93% on beaches surveyed. This highlights the urgent need for the incoming Deposit Return Scheme, which is due to launch in October 2027 in line with other schemes across the UK.

Thank you to the 9,635 volunteers who got involved in beach cleans in 2025. We received 645 litter surveys from across England, providing us with vital data on the most prevalent litter types polluting its beaches.

An average of 151 litter items were found per 100m of beach surveyed in England – a 3% drop from 2024. Although it’s great to see litter levels going down, we want to see further action taken to reduce this further.

Fishing-related litter

There was an average of 12 items of fishing-related litter per 100m of beach surveyed, the same as in 2024. This type of litter was found on 91% of beaches surveyed.

We’re calling on the UK Government to ensure all UK ports and harbours provide free, standardised waste reception facilities with equivalent measures for aquaculture sites and gear.

Sewage-related debris

Sewage-related litter (SRD) saw a 37.5% decrease in England in 2025 compared to 2024, with. these items found on 73% of beaches. Volunteers recorded wet wipes on 60% of beaches surveyed in 2025, removing 3,046 of them.

Although it’s positive to see a decrease of them being found last year this may be due to a dry summer leading to reduced spills from storm overflows. It is, therefore, clear that the ban on plastic in single-use wet wipes is needed and will come into force in England in May 2027. We’re also calling on UK Government to phase out other single-use plastic sanitary items, introduce mandatory ‘Do not Flush’ labelling for all wet wipes and other sanitary products, and support reusable options.

We joined 40 organisations in demanding that the UK Government fixes England’s broken water system, clamping down on polluters to stop sewage pollution which leads to SRD washing up on our shores.

Drinks-related litter

The amount of drinks litter found on England's beaches decrease 12% from 2024, with items recorded on 95% of beaches surveyed in 2025 and an average of 15 found per 100m.

These results reinforce our calls for Deposit Return Schemes for plastic and metal drinks containers to start by the promised date of October 2027. We also want to see a circular solution for glass in place, either through a Deposit Return Scheme or other Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme, and for the schemes to be designed with the ambition of shifting to reuse and refill schemes in the future.

Thank you to everyone who headed to beaches across the Channel Islands to clean up and record the litter they found. We received 18 surveys, with 156 volunteers taking part in 2025. 3,761 litter items were recorded, with 89% of litter found made of plastic or polystyrene.

As with Northern Ireland, we’re currently unable to draw statistical conclusions from the data and are keen to get more volunteers from the Channel Islands involved in our beach cleans and litter surveys.

If you’d like to take part and contribute to our ever-growing dataset, please email beachwatch@mcsuk.org.