Do you know the 10 most common litter items found in our oceans?

Here, you can find all the figures reported back to us by Ocean Initiatives volunteers from their litter cleanups. These figures relate to Europe and are updated in real time. They highlight the main types of litter found on Europe’s beaches, lakes and rivers.

Based on 876 report forms completed by 2108 cleanups organised in 2024

611 532Tobacco products with filters

117 044Pieces of plastic 2,5-50 cm

114 148Fishing : nets and ropes (Ø < 1cm)

107 537Pieces of polystyrene 2,5-50 cm

46 883Plastic bags and pieces

40 268Plastic bottle caps

33 848Bottle caps

30 420Glass pieces / ceramic pieces

28 531Food packaging

28 400Confectionery packets and wrappers