AFTER a break in 2020, 24 volunteer groups have signed up for Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean 2021 and are ready to tackle marine litter in County Donegal.
The event will be launched on Friday 17th of September and will run until the 19th of September, the same weekend as International Coastal Cleanup.
The Big Beach Clean is an annual call-to-action organised by Clean Coasts that calls volunteers from communities all over Ireland getting involved to remove litter from our beautiful coast at the end of the bathing season, as part of the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy.
The initiative is also an opportunity for the over 500 registered volunteers to get involved in a worldwide citizen science project, which will entail collecting the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches and filling in Clean Coasts’ Marine Litter Data Cards that will help heighten awareness about the issue of marine litter serving as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem.
This year will see the involvement of the National Spring Clean programme once again with registrations having been open nationwide to all residents of Ireland, no matter how far from the coast they are based. Statistics have shown that over 70% of plastic pollution affecting our ocean comes from land-based actions. For this reason, Clean Coasts have asked volunteers to help prevent litter from entering our waterways and seas by holding a clean-up no matter where they are in the country and tackling the problem at the source.
Finally, Clean Coasts will once again be supported by Cully & Sully, who will provide registered volunteers with Big Beach Clean kits. Cully and Sully will also be giving away 10 of their exclusive swim robes to clean up participants. To be in with a chance to win, all you have to do is share a photo or video of your Big Beach Clean on social media, use the hashtag #BigBeachClean21 and tag @CleanCoasts and @CullyandSully in the post.
Cully and Sully will also be hosting a Big Beach Clean event in Schull, West Cork on Friday, the 17th of September for volunteers in the area.
Founder Cullen Allen (Cully) said, “Cully & Sully are proud to be partners with the Big Beach Clean again for 2021. The work carried out by the teams across the Island of Ireland is amazing and unfortunately very much needed during these times. We all use our local beaches and have spent time on many of the beautiful beaches and waterways across Ireland and are so thankful for the work that the groups and organisations do.”
Clean Coasts would like to thank the over 6,500 volunteers who signed up for this call to action nationwide for their commitment and effort.
For more information visit www.cleancoasts/org.
