Tidy Towns group in Tipperary organised collection that filled 50 bags of litter

A massive group of very enthusiastic children and adults hit the streets with litter pickers and rubbish bags at the ready on a recent bright and sunny morning in Clonmel.

This was the first of, and hopefully many, successful days out for Clonmel Tidy Towns as part of their Clean Clonmel Collaboration programme. This was a very unique idea, born from a Tidy Towns meeting where members tried to find a new way to tackle litter.

The group reached out to organisations and businesses in the town to offer them an unusual community outreach or team-building experience, while helping to manage the massive problem of litter that affects every town.

Clonmel Scout Group was the first to jump at the chance.

Almost 100 children from the ages of 6 to 18, along with many volunteer leaders, followed pre-organised routes from every corner of the town, ending at the Kickham Barracks Plaza at midday.

Along with the Clonmel Scout Group came the dedicated members of Clonmel Tidy Towns, who are seeking to win their 16th consecutive gold medal in the national competition this year.

They were also joined by staff from Clonmel Borough District and a number of local councillors.

The event also tied in with An Taisce’s National Spring Clean.

When the leaders and children arrived at the plaza, they were met by Clonmel Tidy Towns volunteers who weighed and recorded each bag, noting where the rubbish had been collected.

Together, they managed to collect an impressive total of 50 bags of litter, weighing in at approximately 166.15 kilogrammes and occupying a volume of about 1,440 litres. The invaluable support from the council, who collected the bags, contributed significantly to the success of the initiative.

All of this data is being carefully collated by the Tidy Towns team for inclusion in their detailed application this year for the national competition.

This was certainly a fine example of how volunteers are playing an active role in making Clonmel a place of which we can all be proud.