Cork Volunteers Remove Over 9 Tonnes of Marine Litter in Weekend Beach Clean Blitz

More than 1,500 Cork volunteers joined a nationwide effort that saw nearly 11,000 people remove 60 tonnes of marine litter from Ireland's coastline during the Big Beach Clean weekend, with Cork alone accounting for over 9.3 tonnes of the total haul.

The massive clean-up operation, which took place from 19th to 21st September, saw over 75 volunteer groups across Cork tackle marine litter at various coastal locations despite challenging weather conditions that forced some postponements elsewhere in the country.

Among the standout efforts, over 40 volunteers from Clonakilty Community Resource Centre and Tidy Towns collected 10 bags of litter from Inchydoney beach, where sunshine finally broke through after recent poor weather. The timing couldn't have been better for the picturesque West Cork location.

The unexpected decent weather over the weekend also brought out volunteers in droves around Cobh, with multiple clean-ups taking place across the Great Island. A combined effort from Clean Coasts Cobh, Cobh Tidy Towns and Ballymore Community Association resulted in nearly 30 bags of litter being removed from the area.

Clean Coasts Cobh noted the mixed picture they encountered:

"Some areas like Whitepoint were the cleanest we had seen it in years while other areas are still experiencing dumping as well as rubbish left behind by those using the beach but not taking home their waste."

The Big Beach Clean forms part of the International Coastal Cleanup operated by Ocean Conservancy, with volunteers contributing to a worldwide citizen science project by recording the types and quantities of litter found.

This year's event, kindly supported by Kia Ireland, demonstrated the incredible commitment of communities across Ireland despite some groups having to postpone due to poor weather conditions. The majority of the planned 520 clean-ups went ahead as scheduled.

Cathal Kealey, Head of Marketing and PR at Kia Ireland, said:

"Kia Ireland was delighted to support the Big Beach Clean again for 2025 and to witness the commitment and hard work of Clean Coasts staff and volunteers throughout the country. Their work is truly inspiring, with many of them out every week, come rain or shine, making a huge difference to Irish beaches."

The data collected during weekend clean-ups helps inform environmental policies and campaigns. Previous Big Beach Clean results led to Clean Coasts campaigns such as #BinTheButt and #BreakUpWithPlastic, with cigarette butts, sweet wrappers and fast-food packaging identified as the most frequently encountered litter items.

Encouragingly, the 2025 Irish Businesses Against Litter marine survey showed a 50% increase in beaches and inland waterways achieving a 'clean' rating, credited largely to the dedicated work of Clean Coasts groups and local volunteers.

Bronagh Moore, An Taisce Clean Coasts Programme Manager, said:

"We're delighted once again to see so many volunteers and community groups across the country take part in the Big Beach Clean. Recent surveys show that our beaches are becoming cleaner and that's in no small part down to the dedicated volunteers who clean our beaches, waterways, towns and villages throughout the year."

With approximately 80% of marine litter originating from land-based activities, this year's initiative also encouraged participation from inland counties to help prevent litter entering waterways before reaching the coast.

The Clean Coasts programme, run by An Taisce since 2003, now includes over 2,000 registered volunteering groups and 40,000 volunteers nationwide, organising hundreds of beach clean-ups annually.