There are 25 registered clean-ups happening this weekend in Co. Donegal as part of Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean, to remove marine litter and join a worldwide citizen science project.
The clean-ups are part of the World largest coastal clean-ups and will include in over 500 locations in Ireland.
The Donegal clean-ups will taker place at:
Narin beach
Bundoran Main Beach
Donegal Pier
Kilcar Muckross
Ballywhoriskey
Malin head
Dooey Beach
Shoreline opposite town land of Ture, along lough Foyle
Narin beach
Arranmore beaches
Rathmullan
St Johnston
Carrickfinn beach
Rathmullan
Murvagh Beach, Donegal, Co Donegal
Culdaff
Rossnowlagh beach
Buncrana
Ballyness
Ludden beach, Buncrana
Marble Hill beach
The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy.
The Big Beach Clean invites communities and volunteers around the country to remove litter from around the Irish coast after the end of the bathing season.
This initiative is also an opportunity for volunteers to get involved in a worldwide citizen science project, which 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, serving as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem and help shape future policies and campaigns.
In 2021, over 400 clean-ups being organised in Ireland, with volunteers removing 42 tonnes on marine litter.
Since the first International Coastal Cleanup in 1986, over 17 million volunteers have joined local cleanup efforts big and small to remove 158 million kilograms of trash from beaches and waterways around the globe, all the while logging each item and building the world’s largest database on marine debris.
Data collected from the International Coastal Cleanup have informed policy in a number of areas, leading to laws banning the use of plastic grocery bags; prohibiting smoking-related litter; encouraging the use of reusable bags; prohibiting mass balloon releases; and prohibiting foam food and beverage takeaway containers.
For this reason, Clean Coasts is delighted to be part of this global movement and want to thank all the volunteers in Ireland who have already registered to dedicate their time to this cause.
People still wishing to join can do so by visiting the Clean Coasts website and check out the map of clean-up happening in their area.
