Michelle Green from Cork County Council was kind enough to put us in touch with Proinsias O’Tuama from Clean Coasts Ballynamona (CCB) in advance of our trip down to Ireland’s sunny southern coast. Wanting to bring the show to Cork and anxious to get involved in some community work on the ground, we couldn’t have done better than to join in with CCB’s event on Friday 6th May on Redbarn Beach.
Founded in 2015, CCB looks to harness the energies and goodwill of volunteers of all ages from around Cork to keep their sea and coastline clean and clear of litter. On arrival, we were met by the image of a beach filled with students, all of whom were wearing high-viz jackets and doing their best to pick up every bit of rubbish in sight. From plastic bottles and cans to discarded fishing nets, nothing escaped their attention! Suffice it to say, CCB and all of their volunteers deserve a huge amount of respect for all the hard work they put in to keep Cork’s coastline clean.
The presence of the students afforded us an excellent opportunity to speak with them about Ireland’s deposit return scheme: what it is, how it will work and the ways in which it will benefit us all. Although some had a passing awareness of deposit return schemes generally, none were aware that Ireland will be introducing its very own system in the not-too-distant future. For that reason alone, it is vitally important that we continue with our campaign to raise awareness about the Scheme.