Volunteers remove 1.4 tonnes of litter from Mayo beaches

AFTER a break in 2020, the Big Beach Clean took place over the weekend and Clean Coasts were overwhelmed with the incredible support and commitment shown by communities across Ireland.

In Mayo, volunteers organised clean-ups in 15 different locations, removing approximately 1.4 tonnes of litter.

Among these volunteers, Anne Hastings from Clean Coasts group Keep Our Beaches Clean held a clean-up at Old Head Beach. The group said: “She was pleased to see the beach was relatively clean. Anne found items such as plastic, masks (these are a huge problem especially on the road sides), a kids sandal and a hat.”

The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action that takes place in September at the end of the bathing season. This year, a record number of over 400 clean-ups were organised by volunteers who removed 42 tonnes of litter across the country.

Sinead McCoy, coastal communities manager, said: “After a break in 2020 due to Covid, we were excited to host the Big Beach Clean again, but we didn’t know what to expect. This year there was a significant increase in clean-ups organised, but in a different format: we saw more people registering for clean-ups as individuals or within their household.”

Sinead continued: “This year, there was an over 5% decrease in litter found across Ireland. Overall this is an incredible improvement. The work that Irish volunteers do all year round to tackle litter and less waste dropped by more conscious beach users mean that we are heading in the right direction!”

Big Beach Clean volunteers have also taken part in a worldwide citizen science project that will help shape future policies and campaigns to help protect our ocean. The project 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 and serve as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem.