Team Clean collects hundreds of thousands of marine debris across 25 years

Team Clean is made up of four commercial fishing vessels and 26 beach cleaning volunteers, who since 1999, have removed and documented nearly 800,000 items of marine debris from Tasmanian beaches.

Coordinator Matt Dell said they'll leave from Southport in the state's South and weather depending, will clean beaches between South West Cape and Rocky Point.

"We'll spend six to eight hours on the beach cleaning up and come back in the evening and count it all," Mr Dell said.

He said Team Clean started as a dual project between non-profit environmental organisation Surfrider Foundation and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.

"It started off monitoring for Orange-bellied parrots, and doing an initial survey of marine debris on the South West coast," Mr Dell said.

He said the beaches they've worked to clean over the years are much better off than when they started.

"We did some new beaches last year and it was like going back in time for me; there were just piles of rubbish," Mr Dell said.

"Big nets and buoys; we get much more bulk on the beaches we haven't cleaned before and that's good because it means we're getting the plastic before it breaks down and starts turning into micro-plastics, and then floods into the food chain."

He said on the cleanups, crews keep a tally sheet of about 80 different common debris items.

Much of what they find is from industrial fishing ships.

"We find lots of ropes and and trawl nets, but and then other stuff like plastic bottles and beverage containers," Mr Dell said.

"The biggest item by far is just plastic that we can't identify, so it's bits of plastic that's less than 10 centimetres down to half a centimetre that we've just got no idea where they come from."

Team Clean comprises 26 committed volunteers, but hundreds have passed through to help out over the years.

"You have to have a reasonably good constitution to come as one of these volunteers, you can't really get seasick because we spend pretty much the entire time on the boat."

Fuel is one of Team Clean's biggest annual expenses - up to $15,000 a year.

"If I could wish for anything about the cleanup, it would be for a fuel sponsor; that would make our lives a whole lot easier," Mr Dell said.

"We have a Pozible campaign running at the moment that helps support us and helps pay for the fuel.

"It's our single biggest expense and all the plastic comes from the petrochemical industry, so it'd be a nice sort of closed loop if you like."