Beaches and seafront

Litter on the beach can effect the enjoyment and safety of our residents and visitors.

It can also have devastating effects on the marine wildlife and birds, who may eat the litter or get caught in it.

What we do

Our teams are responsible for keeping our beaches free of litter.

Cleaning is carried out from 5am, 7 days a week.

We encourage visitors to come to the beach any time of day, but please be mindful of the cleaning process and the equipment used. 

What you can do to keep the beaches clean

Please support the teams to keep our beaches clean when you visit.

• don't leave litter
• bag any waste and put it in the bins provided or take it home to put in your bin
• do not take glass on to the beach
• only disposable BBQs are allowed on the beach, dispose of these safely
• clean up after your dog and use litter bins provided

You can also report litter on the beach.

Beach bins 

We provide 30 extra bins to our beaches during summer.

Our teams are responsible for collecting litter from these bins as well as the 120 public litter bins we have year round.

Beach levelling

In May, we level our beaches following the bad winter weather.  

This is process takes around 3 weeks and is completed by Council contractors.

No sand is ever removed from the beaches in South Shields, it is levelled out and dispersed to other areas on the beach where needed.

Seaside Award for Sandhaven Beach

Sandhaven Beach holds a Seaside Award from the country's leading environmental charity, Keep Britain Tidy. 

This recognises that visitors are guaranteed to find a clean, safe, attractive and well-managed coastline.

For more information about Sandhaven Beach, see Visit South Tyneside: Sandhaven Beach.