Greystones among 100 Wicklow events praised as National Spring Clean marks 25th anniversary

Every April, the National Spring Clean, led by An Taisce, encourages communities from across Ireland to roll up their sleeves and tackle the problem of litter in local areas and to see the benefits of a litter-free environment.

This year, 5,430 groups registered to carry out clean-ups throughout the country, with over 500,000 volunteers participating in organised clean-ups, collecting an estimated 2,725 tonnes of litter. This brings the total amount of rubbish collected over the past 25 years of the campaign to more than 50,200 tonnes.

In County Wicklow, over 100 clean-ups were registered to take place, with almost 2,000 volunteers joining the campaign.

Among them, volunteers from Greystones, led by Cathaoirleach Councillor Stephen Stokes, hosted their National Spring Clean event on Sunday, April 7 at the Dr Ryan Park, where an estimated 300 kilogrammes of assorted rubbish was collected. In addition to common litter items, a wardrobe door, chairs and even a mattress were found.

The 2024 National Spring Clean campaign focused on how adopting a circular economy model will reduce our litter and climate impact, by highlighting how the transition to a more circular economy will see less waste, less litter, and lower emissions, and thus, a cleaner planet. And this year, some 35pc of all waste collected was recycled, thanks to recyclable waste bags provided to groups and individuals who registered.

Commenting after the efforts of the team of volunteers in Greystones had “put in a great shift”, Cllr Stokes said: “It was a super turnout. Attendees came from Churchlands, Eastmount, Kenmare Heights, Kindlestown Park and across Greystones. We put a real shift in. Every bit of effort is appreciated. Even when someone comes for 30 minutes it makes a difference. This is the third clean-up that we have held over the last year. It was the biggest one yet.”

However, he added that it was “a pity that we are having to carry out this service in the first place”.

“One can was dated from 2010,” he said. “But some of the waste was more recent, with the deposit return logo present on some bottles and cans.

"I would ask the minority of people who dump waste in a community park to re-consider their disposal methods. As a community we want to build an inclusive family friendly environment.”