Meath volunteers remove a tonne of marine litter in ten locations
After a break in 2020, the nationwide Big Beach Clean took place over the weekend and Clean Coasts were overwhelmed with the incredible support and commitment shown by communities across Ireland.
In county Meath, volunteers organised clean-ups in over 10 different locations, removing approximately 1 tonne of litter.
The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action that takes place in September at the end of the bathing season. Volunteers around Ireland were asked to register their clean up event and take part in a worldwide citizen science project, as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy.
This year, a record number of over 400 clean-ups were organised by volunteers who removed 42 tonnes of litter across the country. In addition, more volunteers joined clean-ups facilitated by Clean Coasts officers in 8 different locations around Ireland.
Sinead McCoy, Coastal Communities Manager, said: “After a break in 2020 due to Covid, we were excited to host the Big Beach Clean again, but we didn’t know what to expect. This year there was a significant increase in clean-ups organised, but in a different format: we saw more people registering for clean-ups as individuals or within their household.”
Sinead continued: “This year, there was an over 5% decrease in litter found across Ireland. Overall this is an incredible improvement. The work that Irish volunteers do all year round to tackle litter and less waste dropped by more conscious beach users mean that we are heading in the right direction!”
Big Beach Clean volunteers have also taken part in a worldwide citizen science project that will help shape future policies and campaigns to help protect our ocean. The project entails collecting the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches and filling in Clean Coasts’ Marine Litter Data Cards. This will help heighten awareness about the issue of marine litter and serve as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem.
The Gormanston Community Association joined Clean Coasts operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce for the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life in 2016 and have supported the BigBeachClean ever since.
The Gormanston Tidy Towns Chairperson Catherine Geoghegan Quinn would like to thank all who took part in the very successful #BigBeachClean on Saturday 18th September on Gormanston Beach on a stunningly beautiful morning.
Some but not all the litter pickers assembled in the train station car park. After an orientation by Peter Brady chairperson of the Gormanston Community Association various litter picking groups set off some towards Ben Head to the north of the beach and others south to the rail viaduct.
