Three unsightly areas in Skibbereen were given a thorough cleaning recently, during a countywide cleanup backed by Tidy Towns committees, local GAA clubs, and the recycling company KWD earlier in the month.
One such area was the walk that runs along the Ilen River at the back of two hotels in the town, as well as the laneway leading away from the town centre quays, and the N71 approach road.
‘We had a good crew of about eight people out and collected more than 40 bags of rubbish,’ said Francis Hunt, the PRO of Skibbereen Tidy Towns, ‘but other individuals and groups went out at a time that was suitable for them, and contributed enormously to the Spring clean.’
One day the riverside walkway was strewn with so much broken glass and beverage cans that it looked as if it was being used as a regular spot for drinking parties.
But 12 hours later, volunteers had racked and stacked numerous red plastic bags, all ready for collection.
One area that could still do with a clean-up is a wooded area at Church Cross, which was littered over the weekend by someone with a taste for Guinness.
A mini mountain of waste cans has led to many critical comments from peple who don’t understand why the culprit didn’t just recycle them instead.
At the Western Committee meeting on Monday morning, the newly appointed director of service for environmental matters, Seamus De Faoite, confirmed that the local authority has successfully completed one prosecution for littering, and he confirmed that two additional prosecutions are pending.
The director also pointed out that the number of fly-tipping complaint investigations amounted to 891 in 2024, of which the Council was directly involved in the clean-up of 742 of these with the collection of 170 tonnes of rubbish.
Mr De Faoite praised all of the tidy town committees for their work throughout the year, and he suggested that collaboration between them and GAA players, coaches, officials and supporters is something that should be encouraged.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for KWD Recycling told The Southern Star they made the decision to get involved 13 years ago, and hailed it as a ‘great community event’ with over 200 individual groups, and 4000 volunteers, getting stuck in.
The event on April 12th coincided with National Spring Clean, and it also drew on the support of Cork County Council, Cork City Council and An Taisce.
This year’s initiative saw several regional recycling companies collecting the litter directly from GAA club facilities, and Tidy Towns groups.
Everyone who participated in the clean-up was provided with litter pickers, gloves, bags and hi-vis vests.
Cllr John Michael Foley (FG) gave a snapshot of what the clean-up was like in Timoleague saying that within a couple hours, they had collected 36 bags.’
The only downside to the collection, he said, is that it highlights the amount of littering and fly-tipping that is taking place throughout the county, as well as the level of rubbish littering hedgerows all along the N71, the region’s national primary route.
