Sandymount Beach Cleanup Article

Working hard on my typecast reputation as an environmental volunteer writer, I had another article accepted to the free community newspaper Southside People. This time, instead of cleaning up the River Dodder, I helped out and reported on the achievements of local volunteer organization Sandymount Beach Cleanup.

The group meets each month for a friendly beach pickup, gathering the garbage that washes up on the shore from the tides and storms. This was my first beach cleanup, but returning members report that they have picked up less trash since the first big cleanup, but are wary of any strong storms or unusually high tides to bring in more litter.

An unpleasant but important-to-note fact: In addition to the expected cans and bottles, the group collects a lot of sanitary waste that presumably gets through filters from a nearby wastewater treatment plant. Most of these products are not biodegradable and end up circling the ocean currents to be deposited unpleasantly on a beach or shoreline. The group advocates the responsible disposal (don't flush!) of these products and the use of biodegradable products.

Anyway, check out the online article or scroll through the print edition PDF (page 11). If you are a real Southsider, pick up the print edition at a newsagent or supermarket near you!

Some great photos on the article by fellow volunteer Aidan Murphy, I did take one very matter-of-fact photo of a portion of the day's take.

Part of the Day's Take

Note: I added a new page to the blog titled In Print on which to post links to my original writing that is published outside of the blog.