Clean Up Iceland

A Project of Collaboration

Clean Up Iceland was launched in 2023 as an expansion of AECO’s long‑standing cleanup efforts, buildingon experience gained through Clean Up Svalbard. The initiative focuses on addressing marine litter along Icelandic coastlines where debris accumulates due to ocean currents and limited local cleanup capacity in remote areas.​

The project is based on close collaboration with local authorities, landowners, and environmental organizations. AECO identifies priority shorelines in advance and obtains the necessary permissions, allowing members and their passengers to carry out cleanups in a coordinated and responsible manner. This approach helps ensure that cleanup activities are aligned with local regulations and community interests.​

Through Clean Up Iceland, AECO members integrate coastal cleanups into their expedition itineraries,giving guides and passengers the opportunity to contribute directly to litter removal while visiting remote coastal sites. The project also serves as a platform for education and awareness, linking hands‑on cleanup activities with information about marine litter, plastic pollution, and its sources.​

​Another aspect of Clean Up Iceland is engagement with local communities and landowners, which allows visitors to gain insight into local knowledge, land use, and the surrounding environment. Collaboration with landowners creates opportunities for meaningful interaction, supports locally anchored initiatives, and helps ensure that cleanup activities respect local priorities while offering guests a deeper understanding of what local communities have to offer.​

Clean Up Iceland complements AECO’s broader cleanup initiatives in the Arctic by extending coordinated cleanup action to a new geographic area. The map, and the images below show cleanup locations across Iceland, illustrating how expedition cruise operations support locally anchored environmental action while traveling responsibly.​

Clean Up Iceland is a collaboration between AECO and Gara, the Blue Army, Terra, Cruise Iceland, the Environmental Agency of Iceland, and Ocean Missions.