Tons of marine litter removed during Clean Coasts Week

A TOTAL of 27 tons of marine litter was removed from Irish beaches and coastlines during Coca-Cola Clean Coasts Week 2019.

Entire communities hosted beach clean-ups and celebrated the Irish coastline with fun activities based around the water, all of which aimed to get people more engaged with the coast.

Events included free beach yoga classes, poc fada, kayaking, seaweed workshops and plogging (the Scandinavian trend of picking up litter while jogging) to just name a few activities.

Over the course of the week, around Ireland alone, 189 registered clean-ups took place, with 3,591 volunteers taking part in the initiative, up from 2,908 in 2018.

A monumental 22 tons of marine litter was removed from Irish shores by volunteers over nine days, which was four tonnes more than the previous year.

Coca-Cola Clean Coasts Week encourages the whole country to protect and celebrate Ireland’s beautiful coastline, and hosts events all over Ireland with the help of some community spirit.

The aim is to engage and empower people and communities to protect our precious coastal resources and appreciate everything our coastline has to offer.

There were several Coca-Cola Clean Coasts Week events on the Southside, including Sandymount Strand and Dollymount Strand that hosted free beach yoga classes.

Michael John O’Mahony, Director of Environmental Education at An Taisce, said: “With almost over 250 events taking place all over the country with the help of 5,450 volunteers, Coca-Cola Clean Coasts Week 2019 has been one of our most successful yet.

“The week saw entire communities coming together to have fun and work in taking care of their local beaches and coastlines.

“Everyone was motivated to help prevent the long term negative impact of marine litter, taking pride in looking after the scenic shorelines in their area.

“I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who got involved, and particularly give recognition to the dedicated volunteers who work hard all year round in protecting and preserving Ireland’s coasts.”

Speaking about their involvement, Gillian Shields, Packaging and Sustainability Manager, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, added: “Coca-Cola has been proudly supporting the Clean Coasts programme for the past 15 years. 

“Through our involvement in the Coca-Cola Clean Coasts Week this year, we are delighted to have helped support the thousands of volunteers across the island of Ireland who are caring for our beaches whilst championing responsible behaviour when it comes to littering.”