First things first, you need to pick a 100m stretch of beach near you and gather friends and family up to a small group of six willing volunteers. As a lot of us are staycationing this year, it’s even more vital that we look after our beaches. Charities are encouraging participants to become citizen scientists – recording what they find to form a national picture of litter across the country, that will then inform policy change. With an increase in single-use plastic seen during the pandemic, they are particularly interested to look at the effect of masks, gloves, hand wipes and other items on our precious marine environment and its wildlife – and you could be part of this.

Next up, bring some reusable gloves, litter pickers and garden trugs. Avoid single-use plastic bags if at all possible. It’s also important to make sure you know beforehand what the weather will be doing and be prepared for all possibilities. Sunscreen (Lush do a non-toxic offering), sunhats, water (in reusable bottles) jumpers, raincoats and warm hats – this is the UK after all.

On the day, gather your group, set a time limit and get going, keeping social distancing. Make it fun for those involved by playing some music or offering a prize for whoever collects the most. If you’re feeling extra organised, you could ask everyone to bring a reusable cup for a celebratory post-beach clean drink.

Finally, dispose of it correctly. Recycle or bin every little piece – just remember to give it a bit of a wash if you’re popping it into the recycling. After the beach clean, be sure to wash hands thoroughly.

Perhaps the most important aspect of any community beach clean is to shout about it on social media, in email newsletters and to your local newspapers. Since large group beach cleans are off the cards this year, we need to encourage as many people as possible to adopt a 100m stretch of beach near them and get cracking.