Volunteers rally to County Clean Up call

THOUSANDS of volunteers across the county got up and out to work on Saturday for the re-arranged County Clean Up-Day – an occasion when communities come together to make their areas spic and span and take pride in their locality.

The Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Jim Finucane, has thanked the volunteers who took part over the past week.

Bags of litter were collected from the roadsides of towns and villages during the twelfth annual clean-up, which was organised by KWD Recycling and Kerry County Council.

“This was another fantastic turnout for the County Clean-Up and shows how civic-minded many of our citizens are when it comes to keeping the county neat and tidy,” he said.

“Storm Kathleen meant that arrangements had to be adjusted a little bit but, over the course of the past week, there was a major effort from Tidy Towns groups and local volunteers who put their shoulder to the wheel,” Cllr Finucane added.

He spoke of the importance of harnessing the involvement of the public by getting more people to sign up with their local Tidy Towns group or start a group in their own area. It’s about getting people out and about collecting litter more often.

Cllr Finucane thanked KWD Recycling and their team for helping to distribute gloves and bags ahead of the clean-up and for arranging to dispose of the bags of rubbish collected.

He particularly acknowledged the way in which the planned collection times for litter were re-adjusted because of the storm.

Noel O’Reilly of KWD Recycling said they were delighted with the turnout and the positive attitude of all the participants. He thanked and congratulated local volunteer groups for their involvement.