Communities urged to join the coastal clean-up

This year’s Big Beach Clean weekend will take place on Friday, Septemer 15 to Sunday, September 17 and communities along Donegal’s coastline are being urged to come along and take part in the world’s largest coastal cleanup.

Last year, 20 beach clean-ups took place in Donegal during Clean Coasts Big Beach Clean weekend and this year David Friel, Beach Manager with Donegal County Council is keen to see as much support as possible in Donegal and in particular in Inishowen in the wake of the floods.

“It would be great to get as much support as possible in the Inishowen area as this particular coastline suffered badly following the floods,” hes said.

“Much debris has made its way down streams and rivers to spill on to many Inishowen beaches leaving them badly littered.”

Clean Coasts have once again teamed up with the International Ocean Conservancy for the International Coastal Cleanup event. In 2016 alone, over half a million volunteers in 112 countries removed emillion kg of marine litter from the world’s oceans.

Volunteers are being invited to join this global coastal movement for litter free seas and be part of the world’s largest coastal cleanup and marine litter survey. Removing marine litter from our beautiful coastline helps protect our coastal habitats and marine life.

Last year 120 cleanups took place in Ireland during the Big Beach Clean weekend and it looks like there will be even more this year.

Join the movement for litter free seas and register a cleanup for the Big Beach Clean weekend atwww.cleancoasts.org . Volunteers receive a free clean up kit containing bags, gloves, health and safety information, data cards and hi-vis vests.

During the Big Beach Clean, Clean Coasts volunteers are also asked to carry out marine litter surveys to quantify the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches. These surveys are aimed at heightening awareness about the issue of marine litter and serve as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem.

Speaking about the Big Beach Clean, Sinead McCoy, Clean Coasts National Manager, said: “We are so lucky in Ireland to have such spectacular sandy beaches and rocky shores but each year millions of tonnes of litter enter our seas and oceans causing environmental, economic, health and aesthetic challenges.

“We all have a responsibility in caring for our coastline so the Clean Coasts programme is inviting volunteers to join this global coastal clean-up helping remove marine litter from our beautiful coastline and aid in the protection of our coastal habitats and marine life.”

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