Clean Coasts campaign urges Cork students to 'think before you flush'

Uisce Éireann and Clean Coasts have urged Cork city students to “think before you flush”.

Clean Coasts development officer Elaine Doyle recently met with fifth year students from Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh in Bishopstown for a Think Before You Flush campaign workshop on Myrtleville Beach.

The workshop highlighted issues associated with flushing items such as wipes, cotton bud sticks, and dental floss down the toilet and how their presence can impact wastewater networks and water quality.

The event offered an opportunity to learn more about the campaign outside the classroom in the natural environment.

A selection of students within the group hold positions as ambassadors of the Green Schools Water programme, and the workshop offered an opportunity to discuss subjects related to their positions.

Now in its eighth year, the campaign — a public awareness initiative run by Clean Coasts in partnership with Uisce Éireann — focuses on the issue of flushing unsuitable items down the toilet, and highlights the consequences of doing so.

Workshop

The outdoor workshop also included information on the Think Before You Pour campaign — which highlights the issue of pouring fats, oils, and greases from cooking down the kitchen sink.

Following the workshop, Ms Doyle explained: “It’s always great to meet students outside of the classroom for an alternative learning experience, and no better place than on the beach.

“You are never too young or old to make a difference, and the students were eager to return to school with new knowledge of the campaign and the simple message of only flushing the three Ps [pee, poo, and paper].”

The wastewater regional operational manager at Uisce Éireann, Mary Hussey, said: “Every day, thousands of unsuitable items are flushed down the toilet instead of being put in the bin.

“At wastewater treatment plants right across Ireland, we are removing an increasing volume of items including wipes from the inlets.

“The flushing of wipes is one of the most common items causing blockages in our wastewater network, leading to sewer overflows and pollution in our rivers, on our beaches and in the ocean.

“We are encouraging people to think before you flush, and to consider the impacts on the local environment and community, ” Ms Hussey added.

For more information on the campaign visit https://thinkbeforeyouflush.org/.