A recent litter pick and cleanup by the Atha Cliath Clean Up The Uplands Team Pure Mile Group and the Pure Project of the beautiful scenic Wicklow/Dublin Uplands resulted in the removal of over 1,700kg of litter and illegal dumping.
Piperstown Road in South Dublin Uplands is a beautiful landscape and environment; however, it is continually affected by litter and illegal dumping. This road is part of the Dublin Mountains Way and both walkers and day trippers regularly visit the area. For over 15 years now Pure have been actively increasing awareness of the South Dublin Uplands and engaging with communities, schools, walking groups, running groups, cycling groups, businesses and organisations, in an attempt to ‘Clean Up The South Dublin Uplands’.
Ian Davis, Pure Manager, commented on the recent cleanup;
‘I remember when I first visited the South Dublin Uplands in 2006 and was appalled at the amount and scale of illegal dumping on the landscape. There was a time when you couldn’t drive down Piperstown due to the amount of illegal dumping on the road. Over the years Pure has removed tonnes of illegal dumping from this area, but now we are finally seeing progress and a decrease in illegal dumping in the South Dublin Uplands. The Pure Project and the Pure Mile Volunteers have both improved and enhanced the South Dublin Uplands, however; it is extremely important that we do not become complacent, or unfortunately, we will return to the bad old days when illegal dumping was prevalent.’
The joint efforts of The Pure Project and Atha Cliath Clean Up The Uplands Team Pure Mile Group resulted in the removal of over 1,700kg of illegal dumping and litter. The group concentrated their efforts on removing all of the discarded, cans, bottles, glass, wrappers, and plastic, from the Viewing Point on the Military Road and then moved to the Piperstown Road and were amazed at the amount of discarded litter in the area. The Pure Truck spent the day removing the large illegally dumped waste, which consisted of construction and demolition waste, timber, floor boards, plaster board, concrete blocks, doors, furniture, and other items. The Pure Project videoed and photographed both clean-ups and posted them on their social media pages.
Pure are engaging with a number of organisations and groups who have already registered with the Pure Mile and all are assisting Pure in, ‘Cleaning-Up The South Dublin Uplands’. Several more litter picks / cleanups have been organised throughout the year and areas covered will include, Glenasmole Road, Cunard Road, Piperstown Road, Glassamucky Road, Castle Kelly Road, Ballymorefinn, Kilakee Car Park, The White Road, and all sections of the R115 Military Road.
Pure supply all groups with Pure Mile Signs, Pure Mile Bags, Pure Mile High-Vis Vests, litter pickers and gloves, and the Pure Truck collects all rubbish and litter gathered by groups. All groups who register with the Pure Mile Project are invited to the Pure Mile Gala Evening Awards Night, and all receive a Certificate of Participation, a selection of Native Irish Trees, and all feature in the Pure Mile Calendar.
Pure are looking for groups, communities, individuals, schools, walking groups, cycling groups, running groups, scouts, businesses, organisations, EVERYONE, to get involved in the Pure Mile by adopting an upland area in the South Dublin Uplands. All groups who enter will be included in the ‘Clean-Up The Uplands’ Award category and all are in with a chance of winning €500.
Anyone interested in the Pure Mile competition can request an application form and information pack by emailing info@pureproject.ie or it can be downloaded from http://www.pureproject.ie/the-pure-mile/pure-mile-application-form/. You can also write to; Pure Project, Wicklow Mountains, National Park, Kilafin, Laragh, Bray, Co. Wicklow and they will post out all the information or request an application form and information pack by phoning Pure on 0404 45547. To enter, simply put your name and contact details on an application form and the Pure Project Manager will meet you and ‘Walk the Mile’ with you.
Pure would also like to inform the public that the lo-call phone number to report dumping in the South Dublin Uplands has changed from 1850 365 121 to 1800 365 123. Further information on Pure can be found on www.pureproject.ie – TO REPORT DUMPERS AND DUMPING IN THE SOUTH DUBLIN UPLANDS LO–CALL 1800 365 123
