More than 1,300 participants, including officials, students, and residents, collected 1,635 kg of waste.

Thousands of volunteers took part in large-scale beach cleanups and awareness drives in and around the city on the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day 2025. The events were coordinated by government departments, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations, and citizen groups.

As part of a nationwide campaign initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) organised cleanups at Besant Nagar beach in Chennai, Kovalam beach in Chengalpattu.

More than 1,300 participants, including officials, students, and residents, collected 1,635 kg of waste. Of this, 368 kg of recyclable waste was sent to authorised recyclers, and 1,267 kg of non-recyclable waste was directed to cement industries for co-processing, the TNPCB said in a release.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Southern Zone Bench Advocates association organised a cleanup drive along the Buckingham Canal Road stretch near the Chepauk MRTS station. The drive was led by Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Prashant Gargava.

At Akkarai beach, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, in collaboration with the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, conducted a coastal awareness campaign. Around 250 NSS volunteers and 50 faculty members participated, collecting 225 kg of waste which was handed over to Chennai Corporation for disposal.

Environmental non-profit organisation SWOTT (Students Working On The Terrain), in partnership with Greater Chennai Corporation, Greater Chennai Police, Mangrove Foundation of India, and other local organisations, led a major cleanup across a 2.5-km coastal stretch in Chennai. Over 3,750 volunteers -- including students from SRM Institute, MOP Vaishnav College, and DG Vaishnav College -- participated, collecting more than four tons of waste.

Separately, NCCR and Kabadiwalla Connect piloted a scrap shop integration model across five beach sites, collecting 1,100 kg of waste, including 260 kg of dry recyclables. At Kovalam, a ghost net recovery drive led to the removal of 95 kg of abandoned fishing gear.

Volunteers take part in coastal clean-up events held in city