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Limerick volunteers break record for the Big Beach Clean 2022
Big Beach Clean 2022 Limerick Tidy Town volunteers pictured in action above
Almost 100 volunteers from county Limerick joined Clean Coasts latest call to action at the weekend
Clean Coasts received overwhelming support and commitment from Limerick volunteers and communities across Ireland for the Big Beach Clean 2022 weekend took place between September 16 – 18.
Limerick volunteers broke the record for the Big Beach Clean 2022, with almost 100 volunteers from the city and county joining Clean Coasts latest call to action at the weekend, removing approximately 554 kg of litter as part of the world’s largest clean-up initiative.
In Limerick, 10 groups banded together to host cleanups, including Adare Tidy Towns Association, Limerick City Tidy Towns and Feenagh Tidy Towns as well as other households, groups and individuals.
These groups pledged to tackle litter in several locations, including Adare Village, Feenagh Village, Kilmallock, Riverwalk and Rhebogue to name a few.
Adare Tidy Towns did their Clean Coasts Big Beach Clean 2022 in Adare Village on Saturday, September 17, starting early in the morning to ensure that they could get as much done as possible.
Limerick City Tidy Towns also took part in Clean Coasts Big Beach Clean 2022 on Sunday, September 18 by joining forces to do a clean-up of Limerick city.
The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action that runs as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy and invites communities and volunteers around the country to remove litter from around the Irish coast after the end of the bathing season.
This year, a record number of over 500 clean-ups were organised by volunteers who removed over 63 tonnes of litter nationwide.
Once more, volunteers were asked to join the call to action, no matter how far from the coast. Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities and getting involved in the Big Beach Clean has been a way for residents of non-coastal counties to help prevent litter entering our waterways tackle the problem at its source.
Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities and for that reason the 2022 Big Beach Clean was open to all residents of Ireland, including non-coastal counties, who contributed to the problem of marine litter at its source.
Each year this initiative is also an opportunity for Big Beach Clean Limerick 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 to share with Ocean Conservancy, 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.
Each year this initiative is also an opportunity for Big Beach Clean Limerick 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 to share with Ocean Conservancy, 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.
So far, 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.
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