Volunteers remove 9.5 tonnes of litter from Cork beaches 

7,700 Clean Coasts volunteers removed more than 46 tonnes of litter all across Ireland as part of the Big Beach Clean 2023.

Supported by Cully and Sully, 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 keep their beaches clean.

In County Cork, 96 groups and 1,583 volunteers removed an estimated 9.5 tonnes of marine litter across various locations in the county.

Among them, three groups hosted clean-ups in Cobh. Ballymore Community Association removed 15 bags of litter, 20 volunteers from Cobh Tidy Towns removed 22 bags of litter, and Clean Coasts Cobh had the third clean-up of the weekend on the Great Island, where seven volunteers collected another 10 bags.

Clonakilty Resource Centre and Clonakilty Tidy Towns met at Inchydoney Lodge and Spa for the Big Beach Clean, where 20 volunteers collected 70kg of litter, with vapes and glass bottles the most common finds, and a talk from Plastic Oceans Europe was held afterwards.

Another group of Clean Coasts volunteers also met at Fountainstown beach, where they were joined by South-West Officer, Elaine Doyle who offered support and guidance throughout the day.

The Big Beach Clean flagship event in conjunction with Cully and Sully took place last Thursday in Youghal/ Redbarn Beach to wrap up the initiative.

Cully and Sully provided warm soup and kit for attendees, with several schools among the participants, including 4th class Gaelscoil Chorain, Youghal, and Glanmire Community College, who were eager to collect data about cigarette and vape litter for their BT Young Scientist project.

During the event, volunteers collected an additional 260.5kg of litter, including a couch, a door, a Teddy bear and fishing gear.

This year’s Big Beach Clean was also part of Clean Coasts 20th anniversary celebrations.

Cully and Sully, who sponsored the initiative commented: “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.”

The next crucial step for volunteers who joined the initiative is for them to record the types and amounts of litter they collected on their local coastlines, as this provides valuable data that will shape future campaigns and strategies aimed at preserving our oceans.