Campaigning to reduce litter and improve water quality in Dorset
This year’s Great Dorset Beach Clean will take place between 1st and 12th April 2026.
Schedule
Ringstead – Wednesday 1st April – 10am – meet near cafe in car park – BOOKING REQUIRED
West Bay – Thursday 2nd April – 10:30am – meet at West Bay Discovery Centre
Cogden – Saturday 4th April – 10am – meet at National Trust car park
Studland – Saturday 4th April – 2pm – meet outside cafe at Knoll beach car park
Holes Bay – Monday 6 April – 10am – meet on corner of Willis Road and Broadstone Way – BOOKING REQUIRED
Weymouth – Wednesday 8th April – 9am – meet at McDonalds Jubilee Retail Park – BOOKING REQUIRED
Lake Pier, Poole – Wednesday 8th April – 11am until 1pm – meet at beach car park
Kimmeridge – Friday 10th April – 10am – meet at beach car park
Ringstead – Saturday 11th April – 10:30am – meet near cafe in car park
Durley Chine – Sunday 12th April – 8:30am – meet at Durley Chine beach
Bowleaze – Sunday 12th April – 9:30am – meet by the slipway next to beach cafe
Charmouth Beach – Sunday 12th April – 10am until 12pm – meet at beach car park
Lyme Regis – Sunday 12th April – 3pm until 5pm – meet at RNLI shop
Find a beach clean near you!
Organise Your Own Beach Clean
If you are unable to make any of these beach cleans but would like to organise your own, head over to Organising a clean-up – Litter Free Dorset for details on how to run your own litter pick!
The Marine Conservation Society Beach offer free training to people interested in organising their own beach clean.
Introductory beach clean training
Training for groups
Survey training for existing beach clean organisers
The Great Dorset Beach Clean 2025, brought together 297 volunteers over the course of one week to clean 15 beaches across the county. Their collective efforts resulted in the removal of 327kg of litter, significantly improving the health and appearance of Dorset’s coastline.
A total of 130 bags of rubbish were collected, with common items including cigarette butts, plastic wrappers, glass bottles, cans, and fishing gear. Volunteers also found more unusual items such as school workbooks, car tyres, a beach roll mat, and lots of socks—highlighting the variety of waste that ends up on our shores.
The event was supported by 12 community groups and organisations, including:
Lyme Litter Pickers
Dorset Police Cadets
Yoga with Leah Miles
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre
Easy Riders
Water Babes UK
Swanage Beach Buddies
Clean Jurassic Coast
Sida Yoga
Dorset Goes Wild
Lulworth Estate
The National Trust
Thank you to everyone who took part and we look forward to continuing this tradition in the years ahead.
Great Dorset Beach Clean 2024
The 34th Great Dorset Beach Clean was a resounding success, with over 200 dedicated volunteers coming together to clean up eight beaches across Dorset. Despite challenging windy conditions, participants worked tirelessly to clear marine litter, much of which was brought in by recent storms.
Volunteers from last year’s GDBC Kimmeridge Bay where 104kg of litter was removed in just 2 hours!
Beaches Cleaned 2024
Charmouth
Chesil Cove
Ferrybridge
Hamm
Lyme Regis
West Bexington
Cogden
Kimmeridge
Chesil Beach
Halstock (village clean up)
Thank You!
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre
Chesil Cove Beach Care Group
Weymouth Portland Marine Litter Project
Litter Pick Lyme
Clean Jurassic Coast
Kimmeridge Smiling Seas
Litter Free West Dorset
Get Involved!
“Me and mum join the beach clean every year at different locations and wherever we go there is always a wonderful sense of community. Everyone pulls together to get the job done and we always have such a laugh at the same time. We’ve been going for 10 years now and will be continuing for the next 10 at least!”
“Really glad we got involved. Was so nice to see the diversity of people involved and the thankful members of the public. Will be sure to join next year!”