Volunteers collect 66kg of litter at Cork beach clean-up

Employees at EirGrid, the operator of the national electricity grid, have collected more than 66kg of litter at a Cork beach as part of a coastal clean-up.

To mark World Ocean Day, eight volunteers from EirGrid, assisted by the Youghal Blue and Green Community Network, took part in An Taisce’s Clean Coasts Programme, rolling up their sleeves to collect rubbish on Claycastle Beach in Youghal.

The Youghal clean-up coincided with an identical EirGrid beach-clean event at Poolbeg in Dublin.

Items collected included cigarette butts, baby wipes, glass, and plastic bottles.

Clothing, children’s toys, and a rusty old steel drum were also found.

EirGrid’s fisheries liaison officer and the organiser of the clean-up, Ronan Lynch, said: “Beach cleans are a great way to show that people can make a real difference to their environment, reduce the damage of local pollution, and help to create a cleaner environment.

“At EirGrid, sustainability and responsible business practices are being embedded across our day-to-day operations, and we were delighted to make a small contribution to protecting our coastlines and creating a cleaner environment in Cork.”

Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean encourages communities and volunteers to remove litter from Irish coastal areas.

“All rubbish collected is weighed and sorted as part of marine litter surveys to quantify the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches,” Mr Lynch said.

These surveys are aimed at heightening awareness about marine litter and serve as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem.

“EirGrid will be logging the data from this beach clean through Clean Coasts Ireland and we look forward to being a more regular contributor to this important initiative.”

Last year, more than 400 registered clean-ups took place across Ireland, removing over 46 tonnes of marine litter.