The eighth County Clean Up took place on Saturday, 13 April and a call went out to individuals and communities across the county to get involved in the annual litter collection effort.
This year, some 6,000 volunteers were out and about on the day with the support of Kerry County Council and KWD Recycling as well as local organisations like Kerry GAA, Kerry IFA, and Kerry ICMSA, each of which are joining in the effort again this year. Colm ‘The Gooch’ Cooper will also be lending a hand on the day and is helping to promote the initiative.
The County Cleanup launch took place on 13th April. ‘The growing success of the County Clean Up, since it was established in 2012, is evident in the huge voluntary effort all over Kerry in previous years and the volume of litter retrieved over the years is indicative of the larger numbers taking part,’ said Cllr Foley.
This year let’s again work together to get even more individuals, families, schools, sports clubs and community groups out on the day to help clean up the county. We are so reliant on our reputation for a clean and litter-free environment in Kerry and through this effort, everyone can play a role in that regard,’ she said.
ABOVE: An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, called to Aghadoe, Killarney during The Annual KWD County Clean-Up Day, to see at first hand Kerry’s biggest annual mobilisations of community groups, Tidy Towns committees, sporting organisations, individual residents and families across the county. Now in its eighth year, it is organised by Kerry County Council and facilitated by KWD Recycling.Brendan Griffin is Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Cllr Norma Foley, Cathaoirleach Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell, Chief Executive, Kerry County Council, Cllr John Sheahan, Cllr Niall Kelleher, Vice President Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce, Sean Murphy, Director KWD Recycling, Oonagh O’Connor, Environmental Officer Kerry County Council.Photo:Valerie O’Sullivan
Last year close on 5,500 volunteers took to the streets, the roads, the lane ways, the beauty spots and the estates all over the county on Saturday to ensure County Clean-Up Day was a huge hit and a remarkable job was done in every town, village and all roadways in between
KWD Recycling will again provide clean-up packs to groups which register at www.countycleanup.com or or e-mail countycleanup@kwd.ie and collection points will be designated around the county to ensure that all litter gathered is disposed of.
Noel O’Reilly of KWD Recycling said: ‘KWD Recycling is delighted to support yet another County Clean Up for the eighth year in a row. This is a very important initiative – not only does it get our highways and byways looking great, it also gets communities together helping to raise awareness of the effects of littering, which in turn deters people from throwing rubbish on our roads in the first place. It’s a great testament to the people of Kerry and shows how proud we are of our county.’
A record 5,500 volunteers took part in the Kerry County Clean Up in April 2018 which saw 8,000 bags of litter collected, the highest ever tally in the seven years in which the environmental and community initiative has existed. KWD Recycling and Kerry County Council completed an analysis of the litter collected which revealed that single-use drinking containers were the most common item of litter retrieved from locations across the county, followed by sweet and chocolate wrappers.
2012 began a huge initiative by a number of local groups and businesses in Kerry to clean up our County to make Kerry the first to have a “County Clean Up” of all our roadways throughout the County.
Contact: e-mail: countycleanup@kwd.ie
So on one day in April, which is National Spring clean Month, everybody involved picks all the litter off our main High ways and by ways. This has proved a great success and has gone from strength to strength each year . There has been a greater amount of volunteers each year cleaning up more roads and keeping our environment cleaner for locals, and visitors alike to enjoy and return to, whilst also creating more awareness of littering going forward.
The Kerry “County Clean-up” which is facilitated by KWD Recycling are asking local resident associations, youth and sporting groups, Tidy town committees, businesses, families or simply a few friends to get together along major routes through Kerry on one day and collect all the litter off our roads keeping them clean. It’s easy to get involved, register your group on this site to order your free “County Clean Up Pack” which includes Reflective jackets, Refuse sacks, event posters and information on how to organise your group. You simply let us know which road you are picking litter from, we will then deliver sacks and reflective jackets to you and on the day you can leave the full sacks in a predesignated collection point which will be arranged with KWD.
ABOVE: Cllr Mike Kennelly Listowel, Mayor of Kerry Cllr Norma Foley, Colm Cooper Killarney, Cllr Norma Moriarty, Charlie O'Sullivan KCC , Cllr Pat McCarthy and Sean Murphy Director KWD Recycling pictured a the launch in Tralee of the 8th County Clean Up which is due to take place on Saturday, 13 April Photo By : Domnick Walsh