Over 200 bags of rubbish collected in Boyne clean-up

Over 100 volunteers came together across different communities in Meath and Louth earlier this month for the ‘Big Boyne Clean-Up’.

Despite the inclement weather, the volunteers came in their droves to the Boyne Catchment at six locations in Drogheda, Mornington, Oldbridge, Slane, Navan and Trim. Over 200 bags of rubbish were collected.

Aoife McGrath, community water officer with the local authorities water programme for Meath, and Kildare, said: “Thank you one and all for turning up in your droves on a wet Saturday morning across the Boyne Catchment to take part in this exciting clean-up as part of National Spring Clean. It was a very rewarding day!

"Thank you to the volunteers with the Boyne Rivers Trust, Trim and Drogheda Tidy Towns, Wild About Navan, the Gaelic Woodland Project, Sonairte and Cllr Elaine McGinty who made the event a reality. The event was also supported by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) and Meath County Council.

"Events like these are incredible – it helps us connect with our local communities, helps us protect our local environment and helps restore our local rivers. We hope to run this event again in the coming months and are very much look forward to welcoming you again to your local riverbank!”

Jack Rogers from the Boyne River Trust said: "We were delighted with the huge achievement on the day and thankful to all involved in the Big Boyne Clean-Up. It is clear that there is a real appetite in the community to clean up our catchment and this is a stepping stone to encouraging people to keep their river clean and healthy. Hopefully we can engage others for the next event and expand on what was a successful day."