Did You Know:
- Pure (Protecting Uplands & Rural Environments) is an environmental project established to combat the increase of illegal dumping/fly-tipping in the Wicklow/Dublin uplands and was officially launched in September 2006.
- They now have 3,500 volunteers taking ownership of the area to stop illegal dumping.
- Sine they started they have collected over 4 MILLION kilograms of waste.
- They started the Pure Mile – in the first year they had 5 miles in the area, this year they have over 1,000 miles of roads, mountains, woodlands, all types of areas with people coming together to reduce the illegal dumping.
- Dumping is illegal, unsightly and unnecessary, causing serious problems to habitats, species, and human health. It pollutes our water courses, damages soil nutrients, encroaches on habitat space, kills insects and animals, and is a threat to both the people who live in the area and recreational users.
- They work with with walking, hiking groups, businesses organisations, scouts to name a few, as well as stakeholders Department of Environment, Wicklow County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dun Laoghaire, Rathmines, Coilete and the Wicklow uplands council.
- They record every location, site of illegal dumping as well as recording the findings of the rubbish.
- This data is used to see how many sites were collected at, how many tonnes, how many times an area was affected to see recurring blackspots.
- In 2023 they removed 120 tonnes, which is a 72% reduction of illegal dumping in the area.
- Prosecution, CCTV, fines etc don’t solve the issue. It has to be done through education, ownership, and bringing people out to the environment.
What You Can Do:
- Set up a Pure Mile – an environmental, community, heritage initiative, established by the Pure Project. The project encourages communities and groups living in rural areas to adopt a mile, or miles, of road, and keep this area litter/rubbish free, research information about their local wildflowers, plants, trees, animals, and the built, cultural, and social heritage.
- Walking groups, hiking, scouts, any type of community group can get involved.
Find Out More:
