2 Minute Beach Clean
Launched in 2013 as a simple hashtag, the #2MinuteBeachClean campaign inspires coastal communities to spend just 2 minutes picking up litter and keeping beaches beautiful. It’s a quick, impactful way for everyone to protect their local coastline.
How do I do a #2minutebeachclean?
To do a #2MinuteBeachClean, all you need is 2 minutes!
It’s easy to get started. Grab a bag and a litter picker and head to your local beach. Spend just 2 minutes collecting plastic and other debris washed up on the shore or left behind.
Dispose of it safely, recycle where possible, and remember—every item removed protects marine life.
2 minutes is all it takes to make a real impact. Ready to get involved?
Find your nearest Station
Our Stations are a complete litter picking tool. Users simply take a bag, take a litter picker and pick up litter for 2 minutes or more. You can find your nearest beach clean or litter pick station by using our Stations map!
What are ocean plastics?
Ocean plastics are waste materials, primarily plastic, that end up in our seas and oceans. They come from litter, mismanaged waste, fishing gear, and runoff from land. These plastics pollute marine ecosystems and pose a serious threat to wildlife.
Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments, often less than 5mm, created when larger plastics break down or from products like synthetic fabrics and cosmetics. They are ingested by marine animals, entering the food chain and impacting ocean health and human well-being.
READY TO GET INVOLVED?
Join us in eliminating the use of single-use cups, this July and beyond!
So, how do you take part? It’s quite simple;
Make a pledge to be a part of the Coffee Cup Challenge by filling in the form
Use your reusable cup/bottle for the month of July
–
Say no to single-use – use your reusable cup/bottle when getting drinks when you’re out and about
–
Share the challenge with your friends and family by downloading our
social assets pack
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
Nature News🍃
Your weekly dose of wild wonders from the natural world, full stories below if you fancy reading a bit more about each story this week.
British-born red kites are being sent to Spain to help restore a population reduced to just 50 breeding pairs by poisoning, predators and electrocution. Since 2022, 120 UK chicks have been transported to Extremadura, where they are checked, fitted with GPS trackers and released.
The Environment Agency is investigating Southern Water after millions of plastic pellets washed up on Camber Sands, likely escaping from its Eastbourne treatment plant during heavy rain. Volunteers say it’s the worst spill they’ve seen, with pellets still appearing. Dog owners are urged to keep pets away as the pellets can be harmful if eaten.
Frankie, a flamingo that escaped from a Hayle zoo, is thought to have been spotted in Brittany despite having clipped wings. Flamingos can fly up to 375 miles in a night, so she may be heading south. Brittany isn’t ideal flamingo habitat, though flocks live further south in France. Paradise Park has released a full statement on Frankie which you can find on their website and on their social media pages.
A 2024 report found only 2% of 2,000 reported wildlife crimes, such as badger baiting, hare coursing and raptor persecution led to convictions, despite most offenders being linked to other crimes. Wildlife and Countryside Link is urging the Government to introduce tougher penalties, ban snares and trail hunting, and improve police training.
#naturenews #natureisawesome #wildlife #naturalworld #happynews
Heroes and little wins ✨
At just 2 years old, Maeve may well be one of our youngest beach cleaners!
Maeve`s mum, Kath, is an ecologist and is passionate that her little ones grow up loving and looking after the planet.
Kath told us "A 2 minute beach clean is such an easy way to help and you find cool stuff whilst doing it, like sea glass and Mermaid`s purses! We are teaching Maeve to love and respect the ocean and do her bit for nature, whilst having fun too"
A perfect description of how litter picking provides not just aid for nature, it provides adventure, discovery and feeling very much part of nature - which we all are.
Thank you Kath & Maeve for such a lovely message and for making the planet a priority 💙
#heroesandlittlewins #2minutebeachclean #beachclean #positivity #2minutesofpositivity #2minutelitterpick #litterpick
The stormy weather tends to bring up a lot of the rubbish that is sadly in our ocean, if you are at the beach over the next few months please do a beach clean if you can, to prevent it all going back out with the tides!
#beach #porthleven #stormyseas #2minutebeachclean #beachclean
It’s even more frustrating when the bin is just so close, never mind, one less bottle on the woodland floor!
#woodland #2minutelitterpick #litterpick #woodlandwalk #lovewhereyoulive #trashpickup
The awesome Kate & Matt using the Fistral Clean-Up Station during the England National Surfing Championships 🌊
The old fishing nets they found will be turned into wax combs by @oneblueeyecornwall and Kate from @radicalwax (who actually sponsored this Station) will be also using it to form packaging for a project.
It`s never not exciting for us to see what transpires from a simple 2 Minute Beach Clean or Litter Pick, providing the tools for people to do their bit is something we are so proud of.
Make sure you tag us in any of your litter picking adventures, whether that`s a quick 2 minutes or something more!
#2minutebeachclean #2minutelitterpick #fistral #litterpicking #newquay #cornwall @surfingengland
Nature News 🍃
Your weekly dose of wild wonders from the natural world, full stories below if you fancy reading a bit more about each story this week.
🐝 Insect highways
Scientists used Met Office rain radars to track insect movements across Britain, finding around 16 trillion insects and spiders fly over the UK each year. Numbers rose in the south but fell in the north. Night-flying species showed worrying declines which is a concern for bats and birds.
🐭 Hazel dormice rediscovered
In West Sussex, volunteers spotted the tiny footprints of hazel dormice in a local woodland, which is proof of a surviving population. Dormice have dropped by about 70% in England since the 1990s due to habitat loss, so this find offers hope for recovery efforts.
🕷️ Wolf spider returns
After 40 years, the white-knuckled wolf spider has been seen again on the Isle of Wight. Found just two kilometres from its last recorded site, this rare species weaves delicate webs through grasslands.
🦇 Bats in the belfry
A new study found 12 bat species roosting in England’s historic churches. Eight in ten medieval churches host bats, offering safe havens amid intensively farmed landscapes which is vital for endangered species like the barbastrelle.
#naturenews #natureisawesome #wildlife #naturalworld #happynews
Autumn is a beautiful season but it sadly comes with a lot of waste, finding a firework nestled amongst seaweed wasn’t a welcome sight this afternoon!
#wasteful #bonfirenight #beachclean #firework #zerowaste #beach #oneplanet
The results are in!
Each year, we take part in The Great British Beach Clean, a campaign ran by our friends at @mcs_uk every September to encourage beach cleans across the UK.
We did our beach clean at Crooklets beach in Bude with a lovely group of volunteers who joined us to help do our bit for the beach.
It`s always interesting to see a breakdown of what we pick up, we`re sadly not surprised to see the most popular material we found was plastic.
Did you take part in The Great British Beach Clean this year?
#greatbritishbeachclean #2minutebeachclean #beachclean #bude #cornwall
On 18th September, our charity manager, Claire led a beach clean with the lovely Fay Coote and 27 other amazing M&G team members at Clacton-on-Sea. The sun shone and the we enjoyed a crisp morning on the beach.
Whilst disappointed about the sheer amount of microplastics on this stretch, we were even more grateful for the time with this group, picking up what we could, learning about how to minimise impact and how to keep positive and motivated to do something with them.
We loved every minute and would like to thank @nbrly who helped us make this all come together.
#2minutebeachclean #beachclean #beachcleaning #litterpick #clactononsea
Join us for a big community beach clean with our friends at Perranporth! Together, we’ll tackle litter, protect our coastline, and have a great time doing it.
You don’t have to be a beach clean expert to come along, beach cleans are the perfect opportunity to meet new people within your local community.
🕥 Meet at 11am on the beach near the Surf Lifesaving Club - just look for the flags!
🧤 All equipment provided - dress for the weather and wear comfy shoes.
Don’t forget your reusable cup to grab a delicious coffee while you’re there!
Everyone’s welcome - all ages & all abilities
A huge THANK YOU to Spotted Waves for making this event happen!
#cornwall #perranporth #2minutebeachclean #beachclean #beachcleaning
How can you help? Consume less, reuse what you can, use less plastic where you can - there is hope!
#ocean #scaryfacts #halloween #microplastic #plasticpollution
@em_lonsdale leaving Ireland better than she found it 🍀
We love seeing your daily litter picks, beach cleans, street cleans, sustainable swaps and general positivity - you are all living proof that there are SO many of us out there leaving the beautiful places we love better than we found them.
Keep being amazing 2 Minute Community! 💙
#2minutebeachclean #2minutelitterpick #2minutesolution #2minutesofpositivity #beachclean #ireland #countyclare #fanorebeach
Have You got 2 Minutes ?
#2MINUTEBEACHCLEAN
#2MINUTELITTERPICK
#2MINUTESOFPOSITIVITY
