Can you leave the Arctic cleaner than you found it? On World Ocean Day, an Iceland shoreline initiative invites cruise ship passengers to rethink their impact.
Can you leave a place cleaner than when you came? That’s the guiding question behind Clean Up Iceland, a growing collaborative effort to tackle marine litter along Iceland’s remote coastlines – and one that resonates well on World Ocean Day.
Led by the Association of Artic Cruise Operators (AECO) in partnership with local NGOs The Blue Army and Ocean Missions, logistics and port agencies Gára and Terra, the Icelandic Coast Guard, and national stakeholders Cruise Iceland and the Environment Agency of Iceland, the project is into its third year. It is also the latest chapter in AECO’s 20-year commitment to Arctic shoreline clean ups.
“World Ocean Day is about action, not just awareness,” says Melissa Nacke, AECO’s Head of Operations. “This project shows how the cruise industry and local communities and visitors can work together to make a visible difference – beach by beach.”
We need to rethink trash
At the heart of the project is a simple, but potentially transformative, idea to rethink trash.
“We need to stop seeing marine litter as somebody else’s problem,” says Frigg Jørgensen, AECO’s Executive Director. According to Jørgensen, involving AECO’s partners offers a unique opportunity to expand the cleanup efforts while adding an extra layer of education and experience for everyone involved. “It’s not just litter — it’s a resource, a lesson, and a call to action,” she says.
By involving cruise passengers directly in shoreline cleanups, tourists turn into participants, picking up discarded ropes, bottles, nets, and other debris, from areas designated by local governments, the port authority, or landowners as in need of attention. The material collected is recorded to help inform marine protection strategies under EU and OSPAR guidelines.
“There’s something powerful about standing on a remote Arctic beach, picking up a piece of fishing line that threatens sea-life or a polluting plastic bottle,” says Nacke. “It changes how we see the ocean and our role in protecting it.”
Opportunity to join forces
AECO members are obligated to follow strict guidelines for nature, communities, wildlife and more. In addition, many guests on expedition cruise ships are interested in sustainable tourism.
“The cleanups are a great arena to facilitate this,” says Jørgensen. “The project also aims to find opportunities for visitors and locals to join forces in beach cleanups.”
Clean Up Iceland is a community involvement project that brings together AECO’s member cruise operators, local partners, and passengers for shoreline cleanups aimed at reducing marine litter and promoting long-term ocean stewardship along the Icelandic coast.
