Clean-up yields 74 bags of rubbish
By Mary Dennehy
AROUND 2,200 glass bottles and 1,400 cans were removed from a 30-metre stretch of the Whitestown Stream in Tallaght last weekend.
Volunteer groups, the Litter Mugs and Dodder Action, carried out a clean-up of the stretch of Whitestown stream that runs above Sean Walsh Park, during which 74 black bags of rubbish were filled.
The haul collected by volunteers (pic: Litter Mugs)
The Litter Mugs generally focus their attention on Sean Walsh Park, however, last Saturday they joined forces with Dodder Action to clean the stream above the park.
Over the years, Sean Walsh Park has had numerous issues with littering and illegal dumping.
However, through the work of volunteers like the Litter Mugs, and with support from South Dublin County Council, the park is today a lot cleaner and safer for both park users and the wildlife that call it home.
The park also received its first Green Flag earlier this summer.
According to John Kibride of the Litter Mugs, around 2,200 glass bottles, not including broken glass, 1,400 cans and 150 plastic bottles were removed from a 30-metre stretch of the stream during last Saturday’s clean-up.
Litter Mugs and Dodder Action being filmed by RTE (pic: Litter Mugs)
Among the dumped items, volunteers also pulled out a full mattress, a kid’s bike, scooter, a full bumper off a car, a shopping trolley, clothes, wood, carpets and tiles.
“It looks like people are just tossing stuff in”, John told The Echo.
“The level of dumping took me back to when we started cleaning Sean Walsh Park.”
According to John, the Whitestown Stream feeds down into Sean Walsh Park, so it makes sense for rubbish to be cleared before it is washed into the park and onto the Dodder.
South Dublin County Council lent a helping hand last Saturday and removed the bags of rubbish collected, with RTÉ also present to record the work of volunteers for a documentary on litter.
The Litter Mugs’ next clean-up of Sean Walsh Park is scheduled for Saturday, September 15 – with the two-hour clean-up from 10am to 12pm being staged as part of World Clean-up Day 2018.
Everyone is invited to come along and to meet at the South Dublin County Council depot car park at Sean Walsh Park that morning.
For further details visit the Litter Mugs Facebook page HERE .
TAGS Tallaght
