► We detected significantly less litter on Tasmanian beaches than previous studies. ► 77.5% of the detected litter was land-sourced, with hard plastics dominating. ► Beach urbanisation, coastline and access points did not influence levels of debris. ► Seventy-five percentage of participants surveyed stated that they do not litter when visiting the beach. ► Younger participants and males admit to littering more than other participants. The drivers (social) and pressures (physical) of marine debris have typically been examined separately. We redress this by using social and beach surveys at nine Tasmanian beaches, across three coastlines and within three categories of urbanisation, to examine whether people acknowledge that their actions contribute to the issue of marine debris, and whether these social drivers are reflected in the amount of marine debris detected on beaches. A large proportion (75%) of survey participants do not litter at beaches; with age, gender, income and residency influencing littering behaviour. Thus, participants recognise that littering at beaches is a problem. This social trend was reflected in the small amounts of debris that were detected. Furthermore, the amount of debris was not statistically influenced by the degree of beach urbanisation, the coastline sampled, or the proximity to beach access points. By linking social and physical aspects of this issue, management outcomes can be improved.