Media Contact: Olivia Crossan Telephone: 087 2045259 Email: ocrossan@eeu.antaisce.org Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean Join the world’s largest coastal cleanup @CleanCoasts #BigBeachClean Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean is taking place on the weekend of the 18th, 19 th & 20 th of September all over Ireland. Clean Coasts is once again teaming up with the International Ocean Conservancy for the International Coastal Cleanup event. Last year 560,000 volunteers in 91 countries removed 7,257 tonnes of marine litter from the world's oceans. Each year millions of tonnes of marine litter enter our seas and oceans, resulting in environmental, economic, health and aesthetic challenges. Clean Coasts are inviting volunteers to join this global coastal clean-up helping remove marine litter from our beautiful coastline and in turn protecting our coastal habitats and marine life. 103 clean-ups took place in Ireland during the 2014 Big Beach Clean, involving 1,442 volunteers who removed an amazing 33,442 pieces of litter . During the Big Beach Clean, Clean Coasts volunteers are asked to carry out 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. This year we are delighted to be supported by Dee’s Wholefoods, who will be donating a percentage of sales to the Clean Coasts programme and promoting the Big Beach Clean on packs of her vegan sausage range. Speaking about the Big Beach Clean, Dee said, “We are delighted to be supporting the Clean Coasts #BigBeachClean 2015 initiative this September and we want you to join us! At Dee’s we believe that food should not only be tasty, but good for your body and good for the planet too. We’re proud to use organic hand harvested Irish Dulse Seaweed from the crystal clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean in our delicious Vegan Sausages, but sadly every year millions of tonnes of litter ends up in the world’s oceans posing major environmental challenges. We want to help keep our precious oceans and beaches litter free, that’s why we’re stickering all our packs to support the #BigBeachClean from the 18th – 20th September and this year we want you to join us!” Join the movement for litter free seas and register a cleanup for the Big Beach Clean weekend www.cleancoasts.org Clean Coasts is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce and is funded by the Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government, Fáilte Ireland and Coca-Cola. Notes to the Editor: 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 Environment, Community & Local Government, Coca-Cola and Fáilte Ireland. Clean Coasts is made up of two elements; Clean Coasts volunteering and the Green Coast Award. The Green Coast Award is an award for beaches that meet the excellent standard for water quality as set out in the revised Bathing Water Directive (EC 2006/7/EC) but may not have the necessary built infrastructure to achieve Blue Flag status. An important element of this award is that these beaches have a beach management plan in place and that the local community are engaged in this process. The Clean Coasts volunteering effort engages communities in the protection and conservation of their local coastal environment. There are currently 403 registered Clean Coasts groups. 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. The Marine Litter We Find We estimate that in 2014 Clean Coasts groups removed a half a million pieces of marine litter from the coast of Ireland. During Clean Coasts Week in May and The Big Beach Clean in September Clean Coasts volunteers carry out marine litter surveys to quantify the abundance and types of marine 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. We have found that plastic bottle caps tend to be the number one culprit. Plastic bottles, aluminium drinks cans and cigarette butts tend to be amongst the highest ranking litter items found. Other common items generally in the top ten include food packaging, sweet wrappers and fishing litter such as rope and string and sewage related debris/litter such as baby wipes and cotton bud sticks are also often in the top ten litter items found on Ireland’s beaches. We do also find some unusual items like a shopping trolley handle, a computer keyboard, shoes and even a steering wheel!

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald Email: afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org Phone: 087 6169727 Clean Coasts - Ocean Heroes Awards Celebrating Ireland’s Coastal Champions Wednesday 24 th September 2014 Clean Coasts have launched their annual Ocean Heroes Awards with a call for nominations for Ireland’s coastal champions. The Clean Coasts Ocean Heroes Awards are an annual initiative run by An Taisce which recognise the invaluable contribution that individuals, community groups, businesses and schools make in protecting and conserving Ireland’s spectacular coastline. The prestigious awards forms part of the Clean Coasts programme which encourages the public to care for, and celebrate Ireland’s coastal environment. Annabel FitzGerald, Coastal Programmes Manager, An Taisce: “The Ocean Heroes awards are a celebration of the invaluable contribution that local communities make to the protection and conservation of our coast. All 400 Clean Coasts groups working around our coastline should be incredibly proud of the positive impact they have made in protecting our beaches, seas and marine life. These prestigious awards are about recognising these Ocean Heroes and celebrating their dedication to the Irish coast.” If you would like to recognise an individual, Clean Coasts group, school or business that is making a valuable contribution to protecting our coast, you can nominate them at www.cleancoasts.org . The nomination process only takes a few minutes and we would love to hear your voice. Nominations must be received by October 10 th for inclusion in the selection process. Nominations are invited in the following categories: Ocean Hero Award - Group of the Year Ocean Hero Award - Individual of the Year Ocean Hero Award - Newcomer of the Year Ocean Hero Award - School of the Year Ocean Hero Award - Business of the Year Ocean Hero Award - Event of the Year Clean Coasts is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce and is funded by the Department of the Environment, Community, and Local Government, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. Ends/ 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 Environment, Community & Local Government, Coca-Cola and Fáilte Ireland. Clean Coasts is made up of two elements; Clean Coasts volunteering and the Green Coast Award. The Green Coast Award is an award for beaches that meet the excellent standard for water quality as set out in the revised Bathing Water Directive (EC 2006/7/EC) but may not have the necessary built infrastructure to achieve Blue Flag status. An important element of this award is that these beaches have a beach management plan in place and that the local community are engaged in this process. The Clean Coasts volunteering effort engages communities in the protection and conservation of their local coastal environment. There are currently 403 registered Clean Coasts groups. 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.

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald Telephone: 0876169727 Email: afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean Be part of the world’s largest coastal cleanup @CleanCoasts #BigBeachClean14 Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean is taking place this weekend all over Ireland. Clean Coasts is teaming up with the International Ocean Conservancy again for the International Coastal Cleanup event. Last year 645,015 volunteers in 92 countries removed 5,580 tonnes of marine litter from the world's oceans. During the Big Beach Clean, Clean Coasts volunteers are asked to carry out marine litter surveys to quantify the amount and types of marine 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. There are already 100 cleanups scheduled to take place and if you are not able to make it to any of these why not do your very own #2MinuteBeachClean! Take a picture of what you collect, tag it and post it to instagram or twitter, simple! Speaking about the Big Beach Clean, Annabel FitzGerald, Clean Coasts National Manager said, “Marine litter is a global concern, affecting all the oceans of the world. Every year, millions of tonnes of litter end up in our seas and oceans, posing environmental, economic, health and aesthetic challenges. Ireland boasts spectacular sandy beaches and rocky shores and we all have a responsibility in caring for it. Every single piece of litter removed during the Big Beach Clean is one less piece of litter that will pollute our beautiful beaches or harm wildlife.” Clean Coasts Ambassador, Easkey Britton spoke about her support of the Big Beach Clean, “The ocean is important - our personal health and wellbeing is so interconnected with the health of our coasts and ocean but it's in trouble. Marine litter is a big issue but each one of us has the power to do something about it and make a real impact for our health and the ocean's. Take action now and register for the Big Beach Clean!” Join the movement for litter free seas and register a cleanup for the Big Beach Clean weekend www.bigbeachclean.ie Clean Coasts is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce and is funded by the Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government, Fáilte Ireland and Coca-Cola. Notes to the Editor: Clean Coasts Ambassador Easkey Britton shows her support for the #BigBeachClean which takes place on 19th, 20th & 21st September 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FVeLj7GdZs 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 Environment, Community & Local Government, Coca-Cola and Fáilte Ireland. Clean Coasts is made up of two elements; Clean Coasts volunteering and the Green Coast Award. The Green Coast Award is an award for beaches that meet the excellent standard for water quality as set out in the revised Bathing Water Directive (EC 2006/7/EC) but may not have the necessary built infrastructure to achieve Blue Flag status. An important element of this award is that these beaches have a beach management plan in place and that the local community are engaged in this process. The Clean Coasts volunteering effort engages communities in the protection and conservation of their local coastal environment. There are currently 403 registered Clean Coasts groups. 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. The Marine Litter we find We estimate that in 2013 Clean Coasts groups removed a half a million pieces of marine litter from the coast of Ireland. During Clean Coasts Week in May and The Big Beach Clean in September Clean Coasts volunteers carry out marine litter surveys to quantify the abundance and types of marine 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. We have found that plastic bottle caps tend to be the number one culprit. Plastic bottles, aluminium drinks cans and cigarette butts tend to be amongst the highest ranking litter items found. Other common items generally in the top ten include food packaging, sweet wrappers and fishing litter such as rope and string and sewage related debris/litter such as baby wipes and cotton bud sticks are also often in the top ten litter items found on Ireland’s beaches. We do also find some unusual items like a shopping trolley handle, a computer keyboard, shoes and even a steering wheel!

FAQs Archive - Page 9 of 10

Ocean Hero Awards 2015

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:11+00:00September 23rd, 2015|

Media Contact: Olivia Crossan Email: ocrossan@eeu.antaisce.org Phone: 087 2045259 Clean Coasts - Ocean Hero Awards 2015 Celebrating Ireland’s Coastal Custodians Wednesday 23th September 2015 Clean Coasts have launched their annual Ocean Hero Awards with a call for nominations for Ireland’s coastal champions. The Clean Coasts Ocean Hero Awards are an annual initiative run by [...]

Big Beach Clean 2015

By bfbritton|2015-08-14T14:09:15+00:00August 14th, 2015|

Media Contact: Olivia Crossan Telephone: 087 2045259 Email: ocrossan@eeu.antaisce.org Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean Join the world’s largest coastal cleanup @CleanCoasts #BigBeachClean Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean is taking place on the weekend of the 18th, 19th & 20th of September all over Ireland. Clean Coasts is once again teaming up with the International Ocean Conservancy [...]

Blue Flag and Green Coast Award 2015

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:13+00:00May 28th, 2015|

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald 087 6169727 @BlueFlagIreland #BlueFlag15 Photographs: Valerie O’Sullivan, 087-6169727 / valerieosullivanf8@gmail.com Naoise Culhane, 087-2979739 / naoise@naoiseculhane.com 144 Reasons to visit Ireland’s Award Winning Coastline 86 International Blue Flag and 58 National Green Coast Awards for Ireland Today, An Taisce announced the International Blue Flag Award and the National Green Coast Award [...]

Love Your Coast Photography Competition 2015

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:14+00:00May 14th, 2015|

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org 0876169727 Clean Coasts Launch 6th Annual Love Your Coast Photography Competition Clean Coasts launched their annual Love Your Coast Photography Competition today as part of Coca-Cola Clean Coasts Week and with a prize fund of €5,000 it is expected to attract huge interest from Ireland’s amateur photographers. There are five [...]

Clean Coasts Week 2015

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:17+00:00May 5th, 2015|

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org 0876169727 Join Ireland’s Largest Coastal Clean Up Clean Coasts Ambassador & Pro Surfer Easkey Britton Urges Us to Tackle Marine Litter A call for volunteers to join Ireland’s largest coastal cleanup was made today by Clean Coasts Ambassador Easkey Britton. Coca-Cola Clean Coasts Week 2015 takes place from May [...]

Beat the Microbead for World Water Day

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:19+00:00March 19th, 2015|

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald Email: afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org Phone: 014002210 or 0876169727 Beat the Microbead for World Water Day @CleanCoasts #BeatTheBead Did you know that by washing your face, brushing your teeth and scrubbing your body you might be polluting the environment and threatening your health? ‘Beat the Microbead’ is an international campaign aimed at raising awareness about [...]

Clean Coasts Symposium & Ocean Hero Awards 2014

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:21+00:00February 18th, 2015|

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald, Coastal Programmes Manager, An Taisce Telephone: 087 6169727 Email: afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org Twitter: @CleanCoasts Regional Press Releases also available Clean Coasts Symposium & Ocean Hero Awards #OceanHero An Taisce’s annual Clean Coasts Symposium & Ocean Hero Awards were held on Wednesday 19th November at The Royal College of Physicians, Dublin. The Clean [...]

Love Your Coast Photography Awards 2014

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:22+00:00February 18th, 2015|

Annabel FitzGerald afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org 0876169727 Clean Coasts’ Love Your Coast Photography Awards 2014 A Breathtaking Photographic Display - Stunning Images of Ireland’s Coastline Projected onto Bolands Mills Clean Coasts’ Love Your Coast Photography Awards were held on Friday 10th October at 7.30pm in Waterways Ireland Visitors Centre, Docklands, Dublin. Professor John Sweeney, President of An [...]

Ocean Heroes 2014

By bfbritton|2015-02-18T15:21:38+00:00February 18th, 2015|

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald Email: afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org Phone: 087 6169727 Clean Coasts - Ocean Heroes Awards Celebrating Ireland’s Coastal Champions Wednesday 24th September 2014 Clean Coasts have launched their annual Ocean Heroes Awards with a call for nominations for Ireland’s coastal champions. The Clean Coasts Ocean Heroes Awards are an annual initiative run by An [...]

Big Beach Clean 2014

By bfbritton|2016-10-17T11:43:26+00:00February 18th, 2015|

Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald Telephone: 0876169727 Email: afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean Be part of the world’s largest coastal cleanup @CleanCoasts #BigBeachClean14 Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean is taking place this weekend all over Ireland. Clean Coasts is teaming up with the International Ocean Conservancy again for the International Coastal Cleanup event. Last year 645,015 [...]

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