Campile Area Development Group and An Glasàn (Enniscorthy Tidy Towns) hosted their first National Spring Clean events of the year and are hoping to inspire others in Co. Wexford to join the campaign.
April is Ireland’s National Spring Clean month, however, some groups in County Wexford got a head start and have been hosting clean up events as part of the Spring Clean 2023 campaign.
Among them, young volunteers in An Glasàn, with the support of Enniscorthy Tidy Towns, completed a community clean up in their area this week with the intent to inspire other people in the community to sign up to the campaign and clean their street, estate, park, etc… A representative of the group said: “Great to see the An Taisce National Spring Clean kits in use early. Heartening to see the next generation making our environment cleaner and greener well done to all involved. Keep up the good work!”
Campile Area Development Group also hosted a clean up event in Horeswood Parish last weekend. Over 28 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and leaders from the 12th Wexford Ballykelly Scouts and girls from the U14 Campile Utd Ladies Soccer Team kicked off the An Taisce Spring Clean for 2023 in Horeswood Parish. Along with volunteers they covered stretches of road in both Ballykerogue and Ballykelly.
One of the Leaders said “It was a great day, the kids loved getting out and having a bit of craic, they especially loved using the pickers, there was great debate over what was recyclable and what was rubbish when deciding what bag to put the rubbish into, especially when they found the shoes! We also had a treat of cakes and buns at the end which also helps.” They collected over 20 bags of rubbish on one stretch of road, including a fire grate, shoes, a coffee maker, bag of flags, a telescope and a set of mugs.
The group is not new to the National Spring Clean campaign, organising several clean-ups every year. So far, this year, Campile Area Development Group removed over 120 bags of litter from different areas, including some uncommon litter items, such as shoes, fire grates, a coffee makes, a bag of old flags, a telescope and a set of mugs.
Registrations are still open, and it is not too late for communities in County Wexford to sign up to the National Spring Clean and make a global difference through local actions.
Over the past 24 years, the National Spring Clean has been focused on the message of the collective responsibility we share in tackling and preventing our national litter problem. By participating in organised clean-ups, groups and individuals of all ages come together to make a meaningful and positive contribution to their communities – to date this has resulted in the collection of almost 45,000 tonnes of litter across Ireland!
This year, the National Spring Clean is also raising awareness about how the adoption of a circular economy model, will reduce our litter, and climate impact. The circular economy is a waste prevention approach to keep resources in use for as long as possible, enabling us to extract the maximum value from them before recovery and regeneration. This is based on three principles: eliminating waste and pollution, keeping materials and products in use (through re-use and recycling), and protecting nature. This means that as we transition to a more circular economy, we’ll see less waste, less litter, and lower emissions, and thus, cleaner planet.
These principles of a circular economy have been central to the ethos of National Spring Clean for the past 24 years. Last 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.
Throughout this year’s campaign, National Spring Clean also hopes people will consider their waste output and moderate consumption behaviours that produce excess waste, and look at alternatives that will move us away from a throwaway culture to a more sustainable circular culture.
To register to be part of Ireland’s largest anti-litter campaign, people can visit www.nationalspringclean.org.
