Number of waste items found along beaches in the U.S. 2023, by type

Roughly 2.5 million waste items were collected in the United States during the 2023 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Cigarette butts topped the list of most common waste items found, with more than 385,000 units collected. Food wrappers were the second most collected waste item, followed by plastic bottle caps. 

Which beaches in the U.S. are the most littered?

With the longest coastline across the contiguous United States, Florida featured the largest number of waste items found during the 2022 ICC. In September that year, a total of 25,541 volunteers collected nearly 1.4 million items in the southeastern state. This was followed by California, where the number of waste items collected neared 538,000. Overall, the United States accounted for more than 20 percent of the total litter found during the 2022 ICC worldwide.

The impact of ocean littering

As one of the largest plastic consumers worldwide, the U.S. coastal population generates millions of tons of mismanaged waste every year through littering and illegal dumping. Oftentimes, this plastic waste ends up in oceans, where it can threaten marine environments, interfere with navigational safety, or lead to economic losses in fishing and maritime sectors. Plastic bottles, bags, and food wrappers are some of the most common types of litter found in shorelines and nearshore waters worldwide.