World largest coastal clean-up set to take place this weekend, including in over 500 locations in Ireland
Over 10,300 volunteers signed up to join Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean this weekend, to remove marine litter and join a worldwide citizen science project
15th September | The Big Beach Clean is happening this September 16th to 18th and over 540 registered events are taking place in Ireland, with volunteers ready to make a difference for our marine environment.
The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy. This year, the Big Beach Clean is sponsored again by Irish business Cully and Sully, who are joining Clean Coasts to host a flagship event in Ardnahinch, County Cork, on 17th September at 10am in partnership with Clean Coasts Ballynamona.
The Big Beach Clean invites communities and volunteers around the country to remove litter from around the Irish coast after the end of the bathing season. This initiative is also an opportunity for volunteers to get involved in a worldwide citizen science project, which entails collecting the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches and filling in Clean Coasts’ Marine Litter Data Cards. This will help heighten awareness about the issue of marine litter, serving as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem and help shape future policies and campaigns.
In 2021, over 400 clean-ups being organised in Ireland, with volunteers removing 42 tonnes on marine litter.
Since the first International Coastal Cleanup in 1986, over 17 million volunteers have joined local cleanup efforts big and small to remove 158 million kilograms of trash from beaches and waterways around the globe, all the while logging each item and building the world’s largest database on marine debris. Data collected from the International Coastal Cleanup have informed policy in a number of areas, leading to laws banning the use of plastic grocery bags; prohibiting smoking-related litter; encouraging the use of reusable bags; prohibiting mass balloon releases; and prohibiting foam food and beverage takeaway containers.
For this reason, Clean Coasts is delighted to be part of this global movement and want to thank all the volunteers in Ireland who have already registered to dedicate their time to this cause.
People still wishing to join can do so by visiting the Clean Coasts website and check out the map of clean-up happening in their area.
