Over the past few weeks many of us have been getting out and enjoying the beautiful weather and visiting some spectacular spots along our coastlines for swimming, picnics and family days out. But have you been conscious of leaving no trace behind you?

This weekend volunteers across the Wild Atlantic Way collected 435kg of litter with Clean Coasts and Fáilte Ireland. Choosing seven locations for community clean-ups, the volunteers visited Cork’s Inchydoney beach, Enniscrone beach in Sligo, Killahoey Beach in Donegal, Fenit Beach in Kerry, Lahinch beach in Clare, Silverstrand Beach in Galway and Keel Beach on Achill Island just off county Mayo. Created by Clean Coasts as part of their summertime ‘Enjoy and Protect’ campaign with support from Fáilte Ireland, the overall aim for the events was to raise awareness about keeping our marine and wildlife spaces clean for locals and tourists alike to enjoy and admire.

With the ‘Enjoy and Protect’ campaign, Clean Coasts are asking people to enjoy and celebrate our stunning coastline, beautiful beaches, epic cliffs and all outdoor areas, but also to protect these natural treasures. Get out and make the most of Ireland’s wonderful coast, but also do your part to preserve our marine environment and keep it safe and beautiful for future generations to enjoy too, with simple actions and small lifestyle changes. More information can be found on the Clean Coasts website here.

In one of her monthly columns for THE GLOSS, contributor Holly Hughes spoke about the responsibility we have while swimming and visiting beaches this summer and shared how we can all do our bit to help. 

“I think many of us are now at the stage where we keep an emergency set of swimmers and towel in the car at all times. Taking this one step further by adding reusable rubbish bags and gloves so that you can do a quick, two-minute scavenge after every dip is a great way to make sure that, not only does your swim do no harm, it actively does good. If you’re an inland dweller, remember that these tips are as applicable to any blue space or body of water where you swim. It isn’t a case of if rubbish or microplastics will eventually end up in our oceans, it’s a question of when.”