More than 700 Tallaght volunteers are to take part in the first National Spring Clean event of 2009.
Tallaght Garda Community Policing Unit and Community Groups unite for largest ever Community Clean up!
An Taisce’s National Spring Clean kicks off on Tuesday 24th March with a massive clean up involving more than 700 Tallaght residents - the largest ever National Spring Clean!
The clean up of St. Aongus Parish and Bancroft, which has been organised by the Community Policing Unit at Tallaght Garda Station, will take place on Tuesday, March 24th from 10am- 3pm.
The Garda Band will be in full swing to encourage the troops which include volunteers from St. Mary’s National School, St. Rose's National School, Scoil Íosa, Scoil Aonghusa, Tallaght Community School, South Dublin County Council, The APT Garda Youth Diversion Project, Home School Liaison teams, the Stay Project, the School Completion Project and Tymon Park Rangers.
The clean up, will also be attended by the Garda Mounted Unit and will include mural painting by local secondary schools in Bancroft Park, known locally as "The 30 Acres".
The National Spring Clean campaign is organised by An Taisce and funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
In 2008, more than 450,000 people volunteered to join with other members of their community to organise clean-ups around the country where an estimated 1,596 tonnes of litter was collected and 35% of that waste was recycled.
Patricia Oliver, National Spring Clean Chairperson said: "The National Spring Clean campaign encourages people to work together to create a cleaner environment and plays a vital role in improving quality of life by empowering people to take responsibility for, and have pride in, their local areas. The initiative is totally reliant on people’s willingness to give their time and energy to help to make a difference in their community and the results continue to be outstanding. I would like to praise the Garda Síochána Tallaght Community Policing Unit and members of the local Spring Clean committee for putting so much effort into organising this fantastic clean-up which is a really positive start to this year’s campaign."
The St. Aonghus Parish and Bancroft Spring Clean has been co-ordinated by the Community Policing Unit at Tallaght Garda Station following a hugely successful clean-up in 2008. The success of last years initiative has prompted An Taisce to partner with the Garda Community Relations Division, Harcourt Square Dublin, who are organising a number of large scale community clean ups around the country, the first of which is taking place in Tallaght.
According to Assistant Commissioner Louis Harkin, Assistant Commissioner Strategy and Training, "This initiative further demonstrates An Garda Síochána’s commitment to fostering and sustaining positive Community Partnerships. The success of last year’s event, which was driven by the Community Policing Unit in Tallaght, has led us to extending Garda involvement in 2009. Garda Community Policing Teams in Tallaght, Store Street, Athlone and Ennis will work closely with schools and local voluntary/community groups in their efforts, to organise clean-ups and thus raise awareness of issues such as Graffiti etc in our communities".
The National Spring Clean campaign is sponsored by Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland and the Wrigley Company. It is also supported by Repak who supply colour coded refuse sacks for recycling the materials collected and Killeen who sponsor the general waste sacks. The campaign is backed by all Local Authorities who co-ordinate activity in their communities.
The objectives of the National Spring Clean Campaign are to:
Promote personal responsibility for litter,
Improve quality of life in local communities,
Heighten awareness of litter and waste issues,
Highlight the importance of recycling and reuse,
Enhance our countryside to help stimulate tourism,
Increase participation rates in the campaign year on year.
All those registering for the National Spring Clean campaign are issued with a FREE clean up kit which contains information, posters, colour coded refuse sacks for segregation of waste materials, protective gloves and tabards to keep participants clean.
An Taisce will also liaise with local authorities to ensure that all materials collected will be picked up without charge.
To register for National Spring Clean call 01 400 2220 or log on to the website at www.nationalspringclean.org.
If you wish to take part in the St. Aonghus Parish and Bancroft National Spring Clean, all groups are meeting at the church car park at 10am on Tuesday, March 24th.
Inspector Niall Featherstone, Community Relations: 01-6663806 / Garda Press Office: 01 -6662032.
Garda Press Office.
11:05 hrs 19/03/09
