Spring off: Kilkenny will have to wait for a little sparkle as An Taisce clean-up postponed until after April 19

Kilkenny’s Tidy Town groups and other local organisations will have to wait a little longer to bring some sparkle to the county.

An Taisce’s National Spring Clean has been postponed until after April 19 due to the Covid-19 crisis and volunteers have been asked not to carry out clean-ups planned before this date but to postpone them until after.

This situation will be re-assessed closer to that date so please keep an eye on the Spring Clean website www.nationalspringclean.org for updates.

Registrations for this year’s campaign are still being taken online at www.nationalspringclean.org for clean-ups to take place once the current restrictions are lifted.

The National Spring Clean campaign Ireland is largest and longest running anti-litter campaign and is supported by Local Authorities who help co-ordinate clean-up activities for communities within their counties.

Over the past 22 years, through the National Spring Clean:

• Over 80,000 clean-ups have been organised
• 38,000 tonnes of litter have been removed
• 8kg of litter per participant has been collected
• 12 million hours of work have been put in by volunteers

While the National Spring Clean runs through the month of April, please remember that personal actions throughout the year are very important too. Here are some choices we can make daily to make a positive change:

• When you are out for a walk, visiting a park or a beach, do a quick #2minutestreetclean or a #2minutebeachclean
• Avoid single-use plastic when possible, by choosing more sustainable alternatives, such as reusable bottles and coffee cups, cotton bags, metal straws, etc…
• Don’t litter and if a bin is overflowing, keep your waste until you find a waste to dispose of it properly
• If you can’t reduce or reuse, recycle; know where and how to recycle all types of waste.
• Recent statistics show that, in Ireland, discarded cigarette butts make up for 60% of litter on the streets. Always bin your butt!

Pictured: National Spring Clean ambassador Sarah McGovern , with Jude (8); and Robyn (6)  at the launch of  the National Spring Clean 2020 earlier this year