Strategic Partner:

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This event is currently postponed. 

DATE: Saturday 28th of March 2026
TIME: 8:15 Check-in & Kit Up | 9am-10am Dive

LOCATION: Dubai Islands Marina
REQUIREMENT: Must be an EDA Member to take part. You must register to this event – no walk-ins allowed. There are limited spaces available based on a first come, first served basis. 

INCLUDED FOR DIVERS: Your EDA Membership covers your tank and weights only. You will be responsible to organise your own dive equipment rental with the dive centre you will be assigned to after registration. We also provide gloves (one size only).

CANCELLATIONS: If you are no longer able to participate in the clean-up after registering, please email us (no less than 72 hours before the event) so your space can be allocated to the next member on the waiting list. Spaces are limited. 

BITE TO EAT: Dubai Islands Marina is providing everyone with a bite to eat after the clean-up activity.

BRING: 
• Your refillable water bottle
• Reef Safe Sunscreen
• Hat
• Towel
• Swimmers
• Rash Guard
• Your Cleanup Arabia T-shirt
• Water shoes
• Your own gloves/dive gloves if you have them for a better fit
• Your diving equipment – if you are registered to dive

WE ALSO NEED TO RECRUIT SURFACE SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS
We need volunteers to support our divers as spotters and help carry bags of debris to the collection point. Please register by clicking the button below and let us know you are registering to be a support volunteer.

ABOUT CLEANUP ARABIA

Emirates Diving Association (EDA) has been running Cleanup Arabia since its inception in 1995, a voluntary campaign that annually cleans-up the UAE’s dive sites and beaches with EDA Members and Partners working together, side by side. Cleanup Arabia is part of the Clean Up The World Programme that is promoted and managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the International Coastal Cleanup by the Ocean Conservancy which is our data submission platform.

The campaign is made up of EDA members and stakeholders that participate in dive site and beach clean-ups which help shape their consciousness concerning marine debris and saying no to single-use plastics. Inspiring change to make a difference together!

www.cleanuptheworld.org and www.oceanconservancy.org

FACTS

  • Marine litter is a problem for everyone! It affects us all, not just the coastal communities. We need to all take part and fix the problem together.
  • Marine litter poses threats not only to the marine environment, but to human health, to the appearance of the coast, and to tourism.
  • Plastic typically constitutes around 85% of all marine litter, and it is regarded as one of the most problematic materials because of its abundance, longevity, and the fact that larger plastics break down into ever smaller parts termed ‘microplastics’.
  • Our ultimate goal as a people, is to prevent more litter from reaching the marine environment in the first place. We need to reduce, reuse and recycle when possible, and ban “Biodegradable” products.
  • Biodegradable plastic, as defined in most of the world, requires specific conditions such as heat and soil-dwelling microbes and bacteria to fully biodegrade. Such conditions do not exist in many ocean environments, and therefore plastic that might otherwise be biodegradable in industrial composters, does not biodegrade once it enters the marine environment.
  • EDA has reported-to-date, 63,883.32kg of marine litter collected by EDA Members & Partners through Cleanup Arabia since 1995.

THE CAMPAIGN’S OBJECTIVES

  • Engage the community and involve people from all walks of life to make a difference.
  • Rid the marine environment of pollution.
  • Direct people toward positive attitudes in maintaining a clean and sound environment by practice and participation.
  • To record the quantities and types of debris collected each year and to make comparisons with the previous data collections.
  • Data collected is reported to the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and used in educating the public, businesses, industries and government officials about the marine debris problem we face in the UAE and neighbouring GCC.

CLEANUP ARABIA T-SHIRTS

We have had a sustainable T-shirt brand design since 2018 which we ask you to please reuse for every CUA event. Only new CUA participating members will receive a free T-shirt for all future Cleanup Arabia events.

NOTE: If a new T-shirt is required due to loss or damage, you may purchase a new T-shirt with the membership discount from our shop.

REUSABLE DRINKING BOTTLES

All participants are to bring their own REUSABLE water bottles to refill at the water stations as part of our sustainable responsibilities.