Newly formed Mahon Tidy Towns gearing up for first Spring clean

A GROUP of volunteers are gearing up to take part in their very first litter clean-up event as part of the newly formed Mahon Tidy Towns.

A handful of locals came together in recent weeks to create a community tidy towns group and tackle any litter in the Mahon area.

The group held an open day earlier this month and quickly attracted more volunteers.

The Mahon Tidy Towns group will take part in their first clean-up on Saturday, April 8, and members of the community have been encouraged to get involved.

Speaking to The Echo, local Independent Councillor Kieran McCarthy praised the Mahon community.

“There is a strong and sincere community leadership in Mahon, who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into the challenge of the day,” he said.

“Resilience is their middle name and I wish them well in their endeavours with the new tidy towns group.

“Cork City Council will support the group as much as possible, especially in the early weeks of the group in order to get some quick wins to reduce the dumping of rubbish,” he added.

“Dumping is taken very seriously by the Council’s litter warden unit and prosecutions do follow the unit’s work.”

Cork city community warden Arthur Needham is among those who established the Mahon Tidy Towns group.

He said the group has applied for equipment grants and is busy preparing for next week’s litter clean-up.

“There is a Facebook page up and running and we have a competition running in the local schools developing a logo for the Tidy town, and the closing date is tomorrow Friday, March 31,” he added.

“The opening day was a great success and got great support from the local businesses in the Mahon area.

“We had large attendants and now have 15 new volunteers.”