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A NUMBER OF groups across Ireland are set to take part in World Cleanup Day next Saturday, in which people from around the world will “stand up against the global trash problem”.
The idea for World Cleanup Day came about 10 years ago in Estonia in 2008 from an organisation called Let’s Do It, when 4% of the population came out to clean the country of illegally dumped waste.
Since then, the movement has spread across the world, and nearly 20 million people have taken part. This year people in 150 countries are set to participate.
On the day, groups who take part join together to clean up illegal waste in their local area.
“Our movement connects and empowers citizens, companies and governments to clean up their countries of mismanaged waste, such as litter and illegal waste dump site,” the World Cleanup Day website says.
This year will be the first year the movement has run in Ireland. Colette Henry, founder of Kinder to Earth, an environmental awareness group, was invited to attend the World Clean Up conference in Estonia in January.
When she returned from the trip, Henry got in touch with JCI Ireland, a network of active young people committed to creating an impact in their community, about bringing the movement to Ireland.
From then, the idea grew and JCI Ireland began coordinating other groups to get involved next week, including Dublin City council and local JCI groups.
“JCI Ireland and Let’s Do It foundation have partnered to raise awareness and implement lasting changes to end the waste epidemic in Ireland,” JCI Ireland president Laura Enache said.
We need to ring the alarm bells as each and every one of us is accountable for protecting the future and the environment in our country.
“We are putting a national call to action for community organisations, citizens, businesses, [and] government to join this nationwide movement.”
Dublin City Council has said it will support the World Cleanup Day by providing equipment to local community groups and collecting refuse bags after the cleanup.
“Communities throughout Dublin regularly arrange cleanup days in their areas with great results and Saturday 15 September will mark an extra special such occassion when World Cleanup Day takes place,” Dublin Lord Mayor Nial Ring said.
On this day global communities will be united in getting out and cleaning up their areas.
“Dublin will be no exception and I would encourage all of our great community-based cleanup activists to partake in this unique event, the benefits of which are our local areas, the environment and ultimately our plant,” he said.
Speaking of the longterm impact she wishes the events next weekend will have, Henry said her hope is that when people turn out to clean up “they will see rubbish they didn’t see before”.
“The problem is trash blindness,” she said.
We don’t even realise what rubbish is there until we go and clean up and realise how much there is. Once people see something they can’t unsee it.
“When they see it and they get a good feeling of taking action then they’ll tell their friends, that’s what I want from it.”
More information about how to take part in World Cleanup Day in Ireland can be found here.
What a fantastic idea. I have been doing it for years where I live and once you start to notice the thrash in your area, it is hard to ignore it
It’s incredible that we actually need to have such events. Fair play to all who get involved but we need to get to source of problem, enforce the law and get tough with heavy fines, where we’re not just treating the symptoms.
I was in Dublin city centre last week for the first time in over a year. I was actually embarrassed at how dirty it was. Overflowing bins, streets full of litter, no street cleaners and the place awash with tourists. What must they think of us ?
@mary conneely: the whole of ireland is filthy, it’s just dublin is the biggest city and it looks worse. Don’t get me wrong dublin(in parts is filthy) but so is the country.
Very commendable and fair play to everyone involved however, over the Summer months my heart has been heavy, my eyes have been opened up alot, for all the talk on once off plastics, such as those cups and a society wanting to change, we really don’t care about the environment.
The beaches/the quays over the Summer has been disgusting the high tides will wash all that plastic and rubbish into the sea.
Pride March, the horrendous state the streets have been left in, all the plastic bottles etc.
Electric Picnic, it’s been well documented.
When it comes to it, alot of people simply don’t care.
How many litter fines were issued in that time frame, if I had to guess maybe 1 or 2 and that is being generous.
I wish we all had to carry an identity card that is linked to a physical address it would make fining people issuing community service orders so much easier. I wish we had litter wardens, are they even real? do we even have litter wardens?
Littering is shameful.
Good manners, etiquette, courtesy and respect are commendable attributes, but uncommon nowadays. Ignorance breeds ignorance and ignorance creates litterers.
If picking up is all we do that is all we will ever do. The next step is to map and share data on litter. We are asking people to take the Take10 challenge and upload and least 10 pics of litter to OpenLitterMap.com
Great idea, hope lots of people come out on the day to help clean up their local community!
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