There will be a "massive effort" under way this weekend as part of Ireland's Big Beach Clean, according to An Taisce’s Communities Manager.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Sinead McCoy said that during the hot weather, a lot of beaches were heavily littered.
While communities make an incredible effort at beach cleans, there is still some rubbish left over from the summer.
An Taisce is now asking people to join the clean-up at 500 locations around Ireland.
She said as well as the effort to clean up, it is part of a science project, as data can be collected to identify issues and find solutions.
"Everyone gets a data card and a link to an app to fill in online," Ms McCoy said.
She said they take that information to inform departments, their campaigns and programmes and it is also shared internationally.
She said they have found "anything and everything" on the beach, as she highlighted the amount of plastic building up as one of the concerns.
She said this weekend's clean-up is focused on single-use plastics and trying to get "our beaches back to as pristine" as possible.
The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy.
The flagship event is kicking off at Ardnahinch in Co Cork at 10am tomorrow.
