Big Beach Clean 2019 supported by Soup Makers Cully & Sully has reported record breaking numbers

At least 45 tonnes of litter removed across the country thanks to the help of thousands of volunteers

24 September 2019 | The Big Beach Clean 2019 took place between 20th and 22nd September all over Ireland and record-breaking numbers have been reported, making this year campaign the biggest yet!

This year, over 300 clean-ups took place around all of Ireland, engaging approximately 8,000 volunteers who removed at least 45 tonnes of marine of litter across the country. With the involvement of the National Spring Clean programme, the Big beach Clean 2019 was opened to all residents of Ireland, including volunteering groups who are not based around the coast, who tackled marine litter at its source.

Each year millions of tonnes of marine litter enter our seas and oceans, resulting in environmental, economic, health and aesthetic challenges. The Big Beach Clean weekend coincided with the World Clean-Up and the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Clean-up, and so it represents an opportunity for everybody to get involved and create an immediate positive impact for the Irish environment and protect marine wildlife.

During the Big Beach Clean, Clean Coasts volunteers were also asked to be part of a citizen science project, in collaboration with the Ocean Conservancy, and fill in Marine Litter Data Card, marine litter surveys to quantify the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches. These surveys are aimed at heightening awareness about the issue of marine litter and serve as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem.

For the Big Beach Clean 2019, Clean Coasts was joined by Cully & Sully, who supported the programme in providing volunteers with additional beach clean-up kit and hosted a flagship event on Garryvoe Beach, co. Cork. Cully & Sully also hosted a giveaway for a €1,000 prize for registered groups who shared their Big Beach Clean experience on social media to inspire more people in Ireland to get involved and protect our coastline.

End

 About Clean Coasts:

Clean Coasts engages communities in the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life. The programme is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce and is currently funded by the Department of the Housing, Planning and Local Government, and Fáilte Ireland. The Clean Coasts volunteering effort engages communities in the protection and conservation of their local coastal environment. There are currently over 800 registered Clean Coasts groups in Ireland and last year over 22,000 volunteers engaged with the programme. There are a variety of group types such as community groups, residents’ associations, tidy towns groups, sports clubs, schools, businesses, universities etc. Clean Coasts organises hundreds of beach clean-ups annually mobilising thousands of volunteers, removing considerable quantities of marine litter from Ireland’s beaches and waterways.

If you can’t join us this September for our Big Beach Clean, please remember personal action is very important. Everyday choices matter to the future of our ocean. Here’s our Clean Coasts top tips for helping out the ocean that we all can do:

  • Avoid cosmetics that contain micro-plastic beads. For more information see here
  • Skip the plastic disposable straw and the single-use cutlery when you can
  • There are many green alternatives on the market today: try beeswax food wrap instead of plastic wrap, or washable instead of disposable snack baggies
  • If you can’t reduce or reuse, recycle; know where and how to recycle all types of waste.
  • Never litter!
  • Even cigarette butts contain plastic (cellulose acetate in their filter) that never biodegrades
  • Remember to ‘Think Before You Flush’, sanitary waste is very harmful for marine life, put a bin in your bathroom and only flush the 3 P’s, (Paper, Pee, Poo)
  • If a bin is overflowing, hold onto your rubbish until you can dispose of it properly
  • When visiting the beach or park, do a quick #2minutebeachclean or #2minutestreetclean: spend two minutes before you leave the beach picking up a bit of rubbish to leave.