Beach cleanup in Tarragona
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Corporate volunteering in which your team removes, sorts and weighs the waste on a beach in Tarragona
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Duration: between 1 and 2 hours
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Designed for companies, town councils and schools, with groups of 10 to 300 people
In 2025, the retention nets installed next to L’Arrabassada and El Miracle beaches and in the Francolí river trapped 27.3 tonnes of waste in Tarragona, 46% more than the previous year.
Hi!
We are Magda and Martí
In 2019 we founded Go Zero Waste to support people and organisations on their journey towards zero waste. Beach cleanups in Tarragona are very important for two reasons:
· Because pollution knows no municipal boundaries. What is thrown away on a street in Tarragona ends up, with the first heavy rain, in the Francolí river and on the sand of L’Arrabassada or El Miracle. We want teams to see it with their own eyes and understand that the solution starts with their daily habits.
What is a corporate volunteering beach cleanup in Tarragona?
A volunteer beach cleanup in Tarragona is an activity in which a team of employees spends a day removing, sorting and weighing the waste from a beach on the Tarragona coast, with authorisation from Tarragona City Council, suitable equipment and the support of environmental educators.
Direct environmental action
The team removes waste from the sand, the rocks and the edges of the beach that would otherwise end up in the Mediterranean: plastics, cigarette butts, packaging, wet wipes, glass and small fragments. It is a physical intervention with a visible result on the same day.
Citizen science and data
Each item of waste is sorted by type and weighed right there on the beach. The cleanup stops being a symbolic gesture and becomes data: what turns up, in what quantity and where it comes from. With this information we prepare the impact report that the company, town council or school receives.
Team building and habit change
Outside the office there are no hierarchies: the group works side by side for a common cause. At the end, we connect what has been collected with what we consume every day and propose challenges to reduce waste at work and at home.
Why choose Tarragona for your corporate environmental volunteering?
A local and growing problem
The waste reaching Tarragona’s beaches through drains and streams increases during episodes of heavy rain, which are becoming more and more frequent in the Mediterranean
Seeing is understanding
One hour on the sand explains the waste problem better than any presentation
Data-driven action
Environmental volunteering gains value when it can be measured and reported, not just photographed.
Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 11 | Sustainable cities and
communities
Shared public space
Cleaning improves it by reducing waste
SDG 12 | Responsible consumption and
production
Reducing waste generation
Our proposals promote prevention, reduction, reuse and recycling.
SDG 13 | Climate action
Education and awareness
Preventing consumption helps reduce emissions
What a beach cleanup day in Tarragona looks like
We choose the beach and the date
We take into account the approximate number of participants, accessibility, transport from your offices and the time of year to suggest the most suitable beach.
We handle the permits
We process the authorisation with Tarragona City Council.
Welcome and safety briefing
On arrival, we explain the safety rules, where the waste reaching the Tarragona coast comes from and how the collection is organised.
Waste collection
For one hour, the team collects waste with reusable grabbers, bags and gloves, accompanied by environmental educators.
Sorting and weighing
We separate the waste by type and weigh it on an industrial scale right there on the beach. This is when the group discovers the real scale of the problem.
Impact and challenges report
We send you a report with the kilos removed and their type, together with proposals to keep reducing waste.
Impact of our campaigns supporting local businesses
+35
Municipalities have run campaigns to support local businesses
+120
Activities to boost local commerce
+25.000
Citizen actions completed
Tarragona beaches where we organise cleanups for companies and schools
Beaches in the municipality of Tarragona
- Platja del Miracle: an urban beach next to the town centre and the Roman amphitheatre. Ideal for large groups arriving by train, as it is close to the station.
- Platja de l’Arrabassada: a very popular urban beach with good access and nearby services.
- Platja Llarga: the longest beach in the city, with room to work in zones.
- Platja de la Savinosa: a smaller beach, suitable for small groups
- Platja de Tamarit: a beach next to the mouth of the Gaià river, in a natural setting of great value.
Other beaches on the Costa Daurada
- Salou (Platja de Llevant and Platja de Ponent)
- Cambrils (Platja de la Llosa and Platja del Regueral)
- La Pineda (Vila-seca)
- Altafulla and Torredembarra
Equipment for cleaning beaches in Tarragona with your team
Litter grabbers
They prevent back pain and are safer, as participants never touch the waste directly.
Reusable bag
We use raffia bags that are washed and reused after every cleanup
Reusable glove
Made from recovered umbrellas by people at risk of social exclusion.
Industrial scale
It lets us weigh each waste fraction right there on the beach
Containers for each type of waste
We bring different bins to sort each type of waste properly
Tent with drinks
We set up a water and shade point to recharge your batteries
Benefits of a beach cleanup in Tarragona
Less waste in the sea
Plastics are removed
Data for citizen science
Characterisation helps identify where the waste comes from
Biodiversity protection
Of the coast and its natural areas
Team cohesion
Through an outdoor activity, with no hierarchies and a common goal
Hands-on environmental education
That changes habits by experiencing the impact first-hand
Safer beaches
For swimmers, children and pets, by removing glass and sharp objects
- How long does a beach cleanup in Tarragona last and how many people can take part?
The activity lasts between 1.5 and 2 hours, with one hour of collection on the sand. Between 10 and 300 people can take part, organised into sub-teams, each with an environmental educator.
- How much does a corporate volunteering beach cleanup in Tarragona cost?
Each cleanup has a fixed price that mainly depends on the number of participants, as this determines the equipment, educators and logistics. It includes permits, reusable equipment, civil liability insurance, educators and the impact report. Transport from your offices is quoted separately if you need it.
- What permits are needed to clean a beach in Tarragona?
Beaches are part of the public maritime-terrestrial domain and any organised activity requires authorisation. In Catalonia, this involves the town council and, depending on the case, the coastal management services of the Generalitat (Catalan Government). We take care of all the paperwork.
- When is the best time to do a beach cleanup in Tarragona?
All year round. The weeks following heavy rain, World Cleanup Day (September) and the European Week for Waste Reduction (November) are especially recommended.
- Can we combine the cleanup with other company activities on the Costa Daurada?
Yes. The cleanup can be combined with a team lunch, a visit to Tarragona’s Roman heritage, a work meeting or a waste reduction workshop. We’ll help you design the whole day.
- What happens to the waste collected?
The waste is sorted, weighed and documented by type to prepare the impact report. It is then handed over for proper management through the municipal cleaning service or an authorised waste manager.
Let’s talk
We are ready to organise a beach cleanup in Tarragona tailored to the needs of your company, town council or school.