Cross Campus Beach Clean Report

Friday the19th of October marked the first Cross Campus environmental initiative. Over 25 students from Willow Park Senior School, Junior School and Blackrock College participated in a beach clean-up.

The Beach Clean took place on Booterstown strand. The students walked from Willow Park and began the clean-up at Booterstown DART Station. Walking in a westward direction towards Merrion Gates; this is the focal point where all of the plastic and litter from Dublin Bay collects. In the aftermath of Storm Callum this proved to be a very successful beach clean-up.

Many items were found from bottles to tyres however the most commonly found materials were plastic bottle caps, earbuds and a lot of Polystyrene!
As some of you may know, Blackrock College is becoming a Plastic free school over the course of the coming year, and by doing the clean up only reinforced why we are doing so.

As part of the plastic free campaign, the green schools committee is calling for the replacement of polystyrene cups, used in the staff room and in 6th year for coffee break, with reusable ones. As aforementioned; polystyrene was the main contributor of pollution, on our own shores.

Polystyrene never breaks down and remains in tiny particles. Fish and other animals often mistake these little pieces of plastic for food. Polystyrene and other microplastics contain BPA, which is a cancerous chemical found in most plastic. When we eat fish or any other animal for that matter, we too consume the BPA left over thus harming us as a race indefinitely.

There is a solution. This solution is to cease using single use plastics and join in with local beach cleans, whether it be with the school or otherwise. Although this may only have a local impact – it will make a very big difference.

If we fix the problems out on a local level, these problems will sort themselves out on a global level.

I would like to Thank Mr. Copeland and Drummond McGinn for facilitating and organising this opportunity for the students