Great Barrier Reef cleanup coming, seeking volunteers

Running throughout October, the event invites schools, businesses, community groups and individuals across the Reef catchment to host clean-ups at their local beach, creek, river or reef. Participants receive free clean-up kits and support to organise their event, making it easy to take part in protecting Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.

In 2024, more than 1,800 volunteers removed over 97,000 items of marine debris across 147 clean-up sites. Now in its seventh year, the Great Barrier Reef Clean-up continues to unite communities in a shared mission to protect the Reef from marine debris and its impacts.

Register a clean-up and receive your free clean-up kits at reefclean.org  

Want to learn more? Check out our FAQ page.

“Marine debris has been identified as a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef and its wildlife,” said Heidi Tait, CEO of Tangaroa Blue Foundation. “The Great Barrier Reef Clean-up is about empowering people to take local action that contributes to large-scale impact. Every piece of debris removed helps protect fragile marine ecosystems and the species that depend on them.”

Jenny Geddes, CEO of Clean Up Australia, says “We are delighted to partner with Tangaroa Blue Foundation and ReefClean again to bring the Great Barrier Reef Clean-up to the region. It is vital that as much litter and marine debris as possible is removed to help protect the Reef and our waterways, particularly before the wet season begins.”

Clean-ups can run any day in October, with no experience needed. Whether you’re a school class tackling a local creek, a business group cleaning a coastal park, or an ocean-lover spending the day on the beach, every effort counts.

Throughout this campaign, clean-up data is recorded in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) Database, a resource used by communities, industry and government to track pollution trends and inform long-term prevention strategies.

We asked previous volunteers how participating made them feel:

“(It makes me feel) Really good because you have a look at the beach and it’s all colours… a few hours later you look at it and it (the rubbish) is all gone, and it just looks fabulous.” Tim, a 2024 Great Barrier Reef Clean-up volunteer.

“It’s just that feeling of satisfaction to see that it’s all gone and we’ve worked as a team to achieve something in such a small amount of time.” Sue, a 2024 #GBRCU volunteer.