Almost 500kg of dumped material removed by team

A TEAM of volunteers removed 440 kilos of rubbish and dumped material from Killinarden Park last month as part of the Big Weigh In.

The initiative is an annual environmental clean-up event run by the marine environmental charity Flossie and the Beach Cleaners, and it took place on Sunday, July 30.

It saw teams from around the country bag up and weigh the waste they collected – with Dublin topping the leaderboard for the largest amount of waste collected.

Caragh Coote from Dodder Action, who participated in and helped to organise the Killinarden clean-up, told The Echo: “We don’t normally weigh what we pick up, we usually just pick it up and bag it.

“The only reason we weighed it was because we were participating in the Big Weigh In, so it gave us an idea of how much we had.”

A number of large items that had been dumped were removed from the park, including an electric bike, a buggy, a tyre clamp, and scooters, alongside smaller littered items.

This is just one haul from one of many clean-ups that Dodder Action and Litter Mugs frequently hold throughout Tallaght.

When asked what keeps her and the other volunteers motivated and going back to the same spots to continually clear dumped material, Caragh said seeing the difference that’s being made is key.

“It can get disheartening, but then it becomes heartening when you look at Jobstown and you see wildflowers growing on the banks of the stream that I’ve never seen before,” she said.

“My heart just blossomed when I went up there earlier this year and there were orchids out in flower.”

Caragh said it’s hoped that a similar situation can occur in Killinarden and said that an important aspect of achieving that is getting local involvement from local people.

All are welcome to take part in the group’s next clean-ups, all that is required is for attendees to bring their own gloves as litter pickers and bags will be provided.

On Sunday, August 20, at 10.30am there will be a clean-up of Jobstown Park meeting at the bollards on Bawnlea Avenue.

The following month, on September 17, volunteers will assemble at the park gates at Croí Ró Naofa at 10.30am for a clean-up of Killinarden Park.

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