Cigarette butts top the list with 34,602 collected.

Add that to 2.8 kilometres of fishing line, 3008 glass bottles, 1241 cans, 1160 plastic bottle caps, 6,350 soft plastics and 1282 straws and lolly pop sticks.

They are among the figures from 22 clean-ups.

Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast, dedicated to preventing rubbish entering our waterways and raising awareness, has notched up its second anniversary.

The group came about after Addam Lockley was "amazed in a shocking way" at the waste collected during the annual Clean Up Australia Day events.

"Then I started to see the massive impacts rubbish was having on the oceans and all of the life surrounding it," Mr Lockley, now the group's vice-president, said.

"Seeing turtles trapped in nets and eating plastic bags, whales washing up dead full of plastic, seabirds trapped in fishing line, the place I love most is suffering and my favourite animals are dying and I couldn't sit back and watch that happen without doing something.

"The motivating factor was doing what is right; to protect the oceans and speak for the amazing animals who cannot speak for themselves."

How the group has developed

Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast had a strong, passionate committee from the start.

"We have built strong community relationships and completed great projects," Mr Lockley said.

"We continue to grow humbly with more people joining and volunteering."

The group started out with just clean-ups and now runs education sessions in schools and preschools and collaborates with stakeholders to achieve big projects to benefit the community and environment.

Proud achievements

Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast has more than 250 registered volunteers.

Two seabins have been installed at Port Macquarie Marina, the group ran a straws off the shores campaign to reduce plastic straw use and was in charge of the waste stations for Tastings on Hastings 2017.

Coastal Warriors raises community awareness of the overall impacts of waste in the oceans and delivers education in schools and preschools.

Some 24,374 pieces of litter were collected in year one with the figures jumping to 49,471 items in the group's second year.

Cigarette butts never seem to decline in any of the clean-ups.

"We have seen a reduction in plastic bags but we still collect them regularly," Mr Lockley said.

"We seem to be getting more support each year which is humbling."

Mr Lockley said Coastal Warriors could not thank the community enough.

"We wouldn't survive without all of the amazing volunteers and businesses," he said.

"We are grateful for the donations we receive from businesses and other community groups.

"The people who show up and help clean the beaches and spread the word are the ones that make it all happen."

Mr Lockley attributes the group's success to passion, determination, communication and collaboration.

"The community always provides good positive vibes and we ride off the back of that," he said.

"We also have a team of dedicated conservationists who work extremely hard to achieve great things."

The faces behind Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast

Meegs Stephens, president of the organisation, is one of the most passionate ocean lovers around.

Meegs continuously strives to make the world a better place.

Treasurer Lynda Gain brings the good vibes and is always positive in succeeding in whatever the group is trying to achieve.

Philippa Busch, event coordinator, designs many of the visuals seen at the clean-ups.

Philippa puts in many hours to ensure the clean-ups run smoothly.

Secretary Jess Macer-Wright is the glue of the organisation.

Jess completes all of the relevant paperwork required to run the organisation.

Glenn and Cooper Alexander are the father-and-son team responsible for managing the seabins, collecting the rubbish and collating the data.

They often paddle across to Pelican Island and do their own clean-ups.

Cooper is Coastal Warriors' young ambassador.

Cooper raises awareness through his school and encourages young people to make change and attend clean-ups.

All the volunteers are appreciated

The crew has completed 22 clean-ups over two years as far south as Dunbogan, west to Wauchope, across to Port Macquarie's Settlement Point and in between.

Mr Lockley said they only scratched the surface with one clean-up each month.

"We encourage people to come along to our clean-ups to help fight this battle against waste," he said.

"The more people we get, the more waste we collect, and every bit of help is appreciated."

What does the future hold?

Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast will continue to educate the community and participate in projects to benefit the oceans and future generations.

"We hope to install grates over drains in the CBD to prevent rubbish flowing into the waterways," Mr Lockley said.

"We hope to work on a protection zone off the coast in the near future.

"We will continue to conserve and protect the oceans until we are no longer needed."

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