1700 tons plastics removed from the sea
Since 2017, we have removed more than 1700 tons of plastic pollution from beaches around the North Sea, most of them in Norway. We’ve covered a beachline distance of more than 20.000 km.
The hard work of cleaning the beaches is done by volunteers, young adults from all over the world.
We focus on saving the most vulnerable nature, especially pristine and inaccessible areas, where no one else is cleaning.
Even though these areas have a low population, they often have more pollution than populated areas, since no one is watching. This is where the impact for wildlife is the highest, and why it’s so important to clean.
The core of our methodology is to move our sailboats right in the middle of the polluted areas, to reduce the need of daily transportation of crew, and thereby reducing emissions and costs, while having more time for the actually cleaning. The crew literally just step out of the boat the live in, and straight on to the beach to start cleaning.
Systematically cleaning everything
The illustration shows the reach we get with 10 nautical miles, showing the coverage and closeness to the polluted areas. By moving our base vessels right into the polluted areas, we can use the workhours efficiently on the beaches, not by traveling far distances to get there.
This strategy of cleaning systematically was launched by In The Same Boat in 2017, as the first public initiative for professional big scale beach cleaning in Norway. The method was later refined in 2019 and campaigned with this specific visualization. Today, systematic professional beach cleaning has become the norm.
Technology and statistics
By the end of 2025 we expect to have retrieved more than 100 000 trawl nets or parts of them from commercial fishing, 2.5 million ropes, and millions of plastic drinking bottles.
| Year | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 34000 |
| 2018 | 74000 |
| 2019 | 220000 |
| 2020 | 400000 |
| 2021 | 180040 |
| 2022 | 261230 |
| 2023 | 250000 |
| 2024 | 250000 |
More than 80% from industrial sources
More than 80% of the waste we collect has it’s origin from industrial activities.
Norway has the longest coastline in the world after Canada, and we think the Norwegian coast is the most beautiful coastline in the world.
Now, we will make sure that we also have the cleanest coastline in the world, thereby strengthening Norway’s name and brand as a fishery nation and a destination for travel and recreation with fertile oceans and great nature and wildlife.
More than 1000 kg pr. km
At the northernmost parts of our coastline we have found more than 1000 kg of plastics pr. kilometer of beachline.
77% is Norwegian
77% of the litter on the Norwegian coastline is from Norwegian sources. (Mepex Consult)
Voluntary work for 15 000 000 EUR
The value of our voluntary work is calculated to 15 000 000 EUR from 2017-2025.
Our crew is mostly young people that travel to Norway from all over the world, paying the travel with their own money, to help us clean as volunteers.
Right now, more than 3 000 young adults is on our waiting list, to join us.
We are also supporting the local volunteer spirit by helping with logistics and organizing cleanups with the locals. Since 2019, we’ve collected waste from more than 500 locally organized beach cleaning operations.
Q&A
How do we handle the trash we collect?
Some trash we collect is sent to Ogoori for material recycling, but most of it goes to the local waste management companies and ends up as energy. We strive to find ways to do more recycling to new materials.
Are we doing more than beach cleaning, or other types of work?
No, we are 100% dedicated to beach cleaning and saving the ocean, including producing and publishing content to create awareness, and our resources are not used for anything else.
Are we politically engaged?
No, we are 100% politically independent – BUT we try to influence politicians and businesses to make good systems to prevent plastic pollution.
How do we work with businesses?
We have a positive dialogue with businesses and try to help them solve their waste challenges. Many businesses are helping us with funding, and sometimes, we make special agreements about where to clean beaches for the money they’ve donated.
Is someone making money from our operations?
No – Our structure is driven by a “nonprofit” model, which means no one is making any profit – all our funding goes to the purpose. We have also decided to have low wages for our employees, which makes us work only with people who have high motivation and personal engagement in sustainability and plastic pollution – no one should be motivated by money to be a part of our team!
That said – of course, many subcontractors provide us with equipment and services, and they actually make money on our activities – and that’s OK. We are a part of the society and have to pay, just like everyone else.
What is the cost of cleaning a beach?
The variations in costs may be large, as the landscape, the weather conditions, the composition of waste, and the time of year and the seasons are changing. The distance from the cleaning site to delivery is also a factor.
That’s why we can’t operate with a price pr. beach or by kilo litter – but however, we know that we over time are able to clean the distance of 1 kilometer for an average of 500 euros with all methodology optimized for efficiency – also having the right funding, to be able to focus 100% on cleaning, not fundraising.
How do we spend the funding?
The cost for running 5 teams along the coastline with 11 vessels in total is about 25 million NOK (2,5 mill Euro) pr. year. The funding is roughly distributed like this:
| Professional crew and team leaders | 35% |
| Leasing of vessels and other equipment | 30% |
| Waste management, logistics and treatment (recycling) | 10% |
| Technical costs (fuel, maintenance, cost of ownership for boats) | 8% |
| Equipment for cleaning (bags, gloves, etc.) | 5% |
| External services, accounting, lawyers, advisory++ | 3% |
| Communication and marketing | 3% |
| Food and accommodation for crew and volunteers | 2% |
| Travel costs for crew | 1% |
| Insurance | 1% |
| Other costs | 2% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
Calculate how much we would be able to do with your contriution.
Our sponsors and partners
Our activities along the Norwegian coastline would not be possible without the financial support we get from companies, organizations, and people, and here’s a list of companies and organizations that have helped us: https://www.inthesameboat.eco/contributors
Here are some of our biggest contributors, that have made a special effort to help us:
