Supported by Cully & Sully, a recent beach clean-up saw 7,700 Clean Coasts volunteers roll up their sleeves and remove over 46 tonnes of litter all across the country, as part of the Big Beach Clean.
The Big Beach Clean is part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), organised by the Ocean Conservancy, and it entails an annual call-to-action for individuals, families and communities to join forces to carry out a clean-up at the end of the bathing season and join a worldwide citizen science project.
The Big Beach Clean flagship event, organised in conjunction with Cully & Sully, took place yesterday (Thursday 28 September), from 10.30am to 12.30pm, on Youghal’s Redbarn Beach, in Cork, to wrap up the initiative.
Cully & Sully provided kit and warm soup for the supporters who attended.
Busy Beach Clean Summer
The event marked the end of a successful and busy summer for Clean Coasts volunteers, as well as a celebration of Sustainable Development Goals Week.
Among the participants were several schools, including Gaelscoil Choráin, Youghal, and Glanmire Community College. The latter’s students were eager to collect data about cigarette and vape litter for their BT Young Scientist project.
Cully & Sully, which sponsored the initiative, noted, ‘What a tremendous clean-up effort by the nation again this year.
‘It’s mind-blowing to think nearly 8,000 people took some time this September to come clean up Ireland’s shores and waterways.
‘We hope this campaign has helped bring an awareness of the importance of preventing waste, disposing of it correctly, and recycling, where possible.’
Unusual Finds
During the event, volunteers collected an additional 260.5kg of litter, including a couch and a door.
In addition to the usual litter items, such as cigarette butts and plastics, volunteers found a teddy bear and fishing gear.
Youghal had been badly hit by Storm Agnes, with a roof blowing off a building on Front Strand, hence the additional unusual finds on the beach.
