AN enthusiastic crowd turned up for an EU Beach Clean-Up Day along Killiney recently which will be repeated later this month.
Cllr Cormac Devlin (FF) led the pack as they descended on the scenic strand to pick up litter and engage in the war against waste.
Over 50 volunteers from across the community participated in what was first EU Beach Clean-Up Day in Ireland of 2018.
This environmental initiative was organised by Cllr Devlin as part of a wider European Commission initiative.
Over 400 beach clean-ups have taken place across Europe so far this year with more than 13,000 people participating.
The campaign first began in 1996 and to-date more than 10,000 clean-ups have taken place across Europe.
With the assistance of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, a total of 15 bags of waste and rubbish were removed from the shoreline.
Cllr Devlin said: "Hopefully this event will help raise awareness about the drawbacks of single use plastics.
“As a society we need to do more to tackle this scourge.”
A recent report has predicted that by 2050 oceans could contain more plastics than fish (by weight) if major changes aren’t made.
The Killiney District Community Council will be hosting a similar clean-up of Killiney Beach on Saturday, April 14.
Meanwhile, the next EU Beach Clean-Up will take place at Killiney Beach on Saturday, May 12 at 2pm.
More information is available on the website www.cormacdevlin.ie and Facebook.
Cllr Devlin added: "I especially want to thank Flossie Donnelly (11) and all of the other volunteers from the local community as well as members from Cabinteely and Dalkey Tidy Towns.
“I would also like to thank the many families from St Nicholas Montessori School in Dún Laoghaire who volunteered and supported this important initiative."
Annually, eight million tons of debris enters the oceans.
Some 269,000 tons of that is plastic that leads to the deaths of one million marine animals every year.
