Sustainable Coastlines is a New Zealand charity that exists to bring people together to reduce plastic pollution and other litter to protect the moana we all love.

Our goal is to see 60% less litter on the coastlines of Aotearoa by 2030. We intend to achieve it through empowering communities to take action for their local beach through coastal clean-up events, educational programmes, public awareness campaigns, and litter data collection.

Since we began in 2009, volunteers have removed over 1.7 million litres of litter from Aotearoa’s coastlines. That’s more than 25 40-foot containers full of rubbish that our marine life doesn’t have to deal with. But we see our real value in the behaviour change that’s sparked when people come to a beach clean-up and see the problem first-hand. Alongside changes people can make in their everyday lives, Sustainable Coastlines encourages people to ask the right questions, and take action to influence broader change.

We are proud to deliver Litter Intelligence, Aotearoa’s first national litter database, which enables citizen scientists to collect litter data at their local beach. This litter data is available for anyone to use, and Sustainable Coastlines works with businesses, councils, and government to inspire change in behaviour, policy, and practices.