Decathlon and Planet Patrol Toast a 25K+ Win as National Litter Mission Target is Smashed
£14,000+ Raised and 259% of Mission Target Hit, Marking a Historic Win for Cleaner UK Waterways
November 22, 2025
Decathlon UK and its official Charity of the Year, Planet Patrol, today announced the spectacular success of their six-month national mission, celebrating major achievements in fundraising, community engagement, and litter collection across the UK.
The partnership, launched in May, successfully mobilised thousands to combine physical activity with environmental action, culminating in the presentation of a cheque for funds raised through customer donations.
A Mission Accomplished: Over 25,000 Pieces of Litter Recorded
The virtual National Litter Collection Mission, which challenged the public to record their findings by material, type and brand using the Planet Patrol app, dramatically exceeded expectations. Originally aiming for 10,000 pieces of litter recorded, the community achieved an astounding 25,954 pieces – a remarkable 259% of the mission target.
This people-powered collected and recorded data helps identify common litter types across the UK, providing crucial insights to inform future environmental policy, clean-up strategies, and corporate accountability.
Fundraising Boosts Environmental Action
Decathlon UK customers demonstrated remarkable generosity through the point-of-sale donation option available across all 40+ UK stores. Running from July through to October, the initiative successfully raised £14,969 for Planet Patrol’s environmental efforts.
The funds will directly support the non-profit’s ongoing work tackling pollution and its impact on both environmental and human health – helping to make outdoor activity cleaner and more sustainable for all.
Community Engagement Highlights
Beyond the virtual mission, the partnership also hosted two sell-out Big Paddle Clean Up events in London, as part of Paddle UK’s annual environmental campaign.
Combining paddleboarding with litter collection and water quality testing, offering participants a unique, sport-focused way to protect and celebrate UK waterways. Participants removed over 500 pieces of litter from the River Thames while testing water quality too.
Becky Lillico. UK & Ireland Environmental Impact, Waste & Resource Lead. Decathlon UK “We’re incredibly proud of what our partnership with Planet Patrol has achieved this year. Seeing so many people come together to protect the places where we play and exercise is truly inspiring. A real highlight was seeing our Decathlon teammates rally together on World Clean Up Day — heading out from their local stores to join the mission and give it a boost. Exceeding our litter target by more than double shows the power of collective action, and it reinforces our belief that sustainability should be at the heart of sport and outdoor activity.”
Founder of Planet Patrol, Lizzie Carr MBE: “Partnering with Decathlon has helped people clean up their local communities, turning their passion for sport and the outdoors into positive environmental action. More than 25,000 pieces of litter have been recorded in the app in total, and every piece is valuable data we can use as evidence to push for change. The funds raised will support our team to expand our citizen science programmes and campaigning efforts, so we can better protect the places we love to play for generations to come.”
Celebrating a Collective Win
The campaign concluded with a celebration event marking the handover of a cheque to Planet Patrol, recognising the combined efforts of Decathlon teammates, Planet Patrol volunteers, and generous customers nationwide.
Notes to Editors
About Planet Patrol
Planet Patrol is a registered non-profit dedicated to tackling environmental and human health issues caused by pollution. The organisation empowers volunteers to collect data on litter and water quality, creating real-world impact through people-powered research.
More information: https://planetpatrol.co/
Litter Report
Data from this mission will contribute to Planet Patrol’s wider analysis. For detailed insights from six years of citizen science, see People-Powered Progress: Litter Report 2019–2024, published 30 September 2024, featuring data gathered with Decathlon UK.
https://planetpatrol.co/reports/
