Almost 600 volunteers in Louth remove an estimated 3.4 Tonnes of beach litter

In  Louth nearly 600 volunteers from over 80 groups removed an estimated 3.4 tonnes of marine litter as part of An Taisce’s Annual Big Beach Clean with clean-ups taking place in various locations across the county.   

Among them, Cooley Peninsula Community Alert, Louth Volunteer Centre again, Cooley Kickhams and Rathcor National School and Rice and Roddy Motors joined for a Big Beach Clean at Templetown beach. The joint effort of all of these dedicated groups saw a many bags of litter and other larger items removed from the beach.  

An estimated 60 tonnes of marine litter was removed from Ireland’s coastline this past weekend, as thousands of dedicated volunteers across the country rallied for An Taisce’s Clean Coasts Programme’s Annual Big Beach Clean. 

Taking place from the 19th to 21st of September, over 520 clean-ups engaging almost 11,000 volunteers took place nationwide, ultimately removing over 60 tonnes of litter from Irelands coastal and inland waterways. 

That’s the equivalent of approximately 9 elephants. While a few groups had to postpone clean-ups due to poor weather conditions, the majority still took place, demonstrating the strong commitment of communities across the country. 

Reports suggest that approximately 80% of marine litter comes from land-based activities and litter dropped in towns and cities ends up in our seas and oceans. This year, with support from An Taisce’s National Spring Clean programme, volunteers from inland counties were also strongly encouraged to join the call to action, no matter how far they are from the coast. 

Getting involved in the Big Beach Clean has been a way for volunteers from non-coastal counties to help prevent litter entering our waterways, with over half of non-coastal counties having a higher registration rate in 2025 than in 2024.  

Clean Coasts’ Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action that runs as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy. Each year Big Beach Clean volunteers are invited to take part in this worldwide citizen science project. 

By recording quantities and categories of litter found and filling in Clean Coasts’ Marine Litter Data Cards to share with Ocean Conservancy this initiative not only helps to keep litter out of our waterways but also helps to inform policies and actions surrounding litter through citizen science data collection.  

Clean Coasts Campaigns such as #BinTheButt and #BreakUpWithPlastic were born out of previous years’ Big Beach Clean data. In 2024, the top three items recorded during the Big Beach Clean weekend were fishing related waste, cigarette butts and plastic pieces.  The 2025 Irish Businesses Against Litter (IBAL) marine litter report indicated a 50% increase in the number of beaches and inland waterways achieving a ‘clean’ rating. The report credits this significant improvement to the dedicated work of Clean Coasts groups and local volunteers. The 2025 survey also identified cigarette butts, sweet wrappers, and fast-food packaging as the most frequently encountered litter items across surveyed areas. 

Clean Coasts welcomed the support of Kia Ireland and enjoyed meeting with dealerships across the country who also got involved in clean ups in their area. 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, and for that we want to say a huge thank you.” 

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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. 

“Together we are making a tangible difference in keeping our beaches clean and in protecting our marine life. We thank each and every one of them for their contribution as well as the local councils that support them. We would encourage everyone to stay involved and keep active in their local Clean Coasts Group and in their communities.”