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• Communities in County Cork came together to make a difference for our environment, by removing 89 tonnes of litter from various locations across the county.

The National Spring Clean is Ireland’s official anti-litter campaign and over the past 24 years, the initiative has been highlighted the collective responsibility we share in tackling and preventing our national litter problem.  

National Spring Clean is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce in partnership with Local Authorities and supported by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Mars Wrigley Ireland.

Throughout the month of April, the National Spring Clean encouraged communities from across Ireland to tackle the problem of litter in local areas and to see the benefits of a litter-free environment.  

This year over 500 Cork groups registered to carry out clean-ups throughout the county making Spring Clean 23 one of Ireland’s largest anti-litter campaign to date and making Cork the County with the most registered clean-ups and largest amount of litter collected.

Overall, approximately 16,000 volunteers joined Spring Clean 23 in County Cork removing an estimated 89 tonnes of litter. Furthermore, National Spring Clean has been a starting point for a large number of groups to organise regular clean-up events all year long! 

Among the group who joined the National Spring Clean in County Cork, Ballyphehane Tidy Towns, Tramore River Clean up group, Douglas Tidy Towns Tidy Towns Tougher and Turners Cross Biodiversity group all came together for a joint clean-up in Cork for National Spring Clean 2023.  

Moreover, volunteers at Cobh Tidy Towns organised several clean-ups around the town throughout April, removing large amount of litter. Moreover, to celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd, the group undertook other actions to make the town clean and beautiful, including hand weeding and planting more pollinators, sweping silt and dirt build up from roadsides to prevent drain blockage, picking up lots of discarded takeaway litter and single use vape related litter, and more to help biodiversity.

Volunteers from the Ballinora Tidy Towns also took part in the National Spring Clean in their area during the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, receiving amazing support from all the community who came out and made sure the town was clean and beautiful ahead of the summer months. 

Finally, Janssen Pharmaceutical also undertook a clean-up as part of National Spring in Little Island, at the end of March, to mark World Water Day. 

National Spring Clean 2023 has been an amazing opportunity for communities in Cork and nationwide to come together and do their bit for their local environment, contribute to creating a more sustainable community, be with like-minded people and make a difference.  

This year,  the aim for National Spring Clean was also to raised awareness about how the adoption of a circular economy model, will reduce our litter, and climate impact, meaning that as we transition to a more circular economy, we’ll see less waste, less litter, and lower emissions, and thus, cleaner planet. 

The principles of a circular economy have always been central to the ethos of National Spring Clean for the past 24 years. This year, some 35% of all waste collected was recycled, thanks to recyclable waste bags provided to groups and individuals who register, while the removal of litter from our natural environment has helped tackle biodiversity loss.  

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, said of the initiative: 

“An Taisce’s National Spring Clean continues to showcase the dedication of volunteers all over the country. The commitment of volunteers in continuing to organise local clean-ups each year is a testament to the spirit in Irish communities and I would urge as many people as possible to get involved in the campaign. My Department will continue to support the campaign and An Taisce, whose role in organising this successful campaign each year, deserves to be acknowledged. I look forward to the many events that will be held all over the country in the coming months.” 

National Spring Clean, manager, Emlyn Cullen, added:   

“This was one of our biggest years ever with regards people taking part. We can’t thank the volunteers enough for giving up their time and energy to make Ireland a cleaner, greener country this April. Huge credit also goes to the Local Authorities who work hard during the month to collect the full bags after events. Also I’d like to thank our funders, the Dept. of Environment, Climate and Communications and sponsors, Mars Wrigley Ireland.”

Even though April is coming to an end, there are plenty of campaigns and activities that The National Spring Clean run and endorse that you can get involved in. A few of these include:  

• When you are out for a walk, visiting a park or a beach, do a quick #2MinuteStreetClean or a #2MinuteBeachClean
• Avoid single-use plastic when possible, by choosing more sustainable alternatives, such as reusable bottles and coffee cups, cotton bags, metal straws, etc…
•  Don’t litter and if a bin is overflowing, keep your waste until you find a waste to dispose of it properly
• If you can’t reduce or reuse, recycle; know where and how to recycle all types of waste.
• Recent statistics show that, in Ireland, discarded cigarette butts make up for 60% of litter on the streets. Always bin your butt!
• Make sure to bin your chewing gum when you’re done to avoid a €150 gum littering fine and keep our streets clean!