The Think Before You Flush team were delighted to meet Red Cross Youths Tralee on Cockelshell Beach outside Tralee town last Friday. The Think Before You Flush campaign is a public awareness campaign run by Clean Coasts in partnership with Uisce Éireann. The main message of the campaign is simple, only flush the 3Ps, that’s pee, poo and paper, down the toilet and throw all other waste in the bin. Flushing unsuitable items down the toilet can result in blockages and the possibility of sewage related litter, such as wipes, cotton buds, hair and dental floss, ending up in our waterways and on our beautiful beaches, of which Kerry boasts many. This litter can impact the marine life that inhabits the waterways and the habitats they rely on for their survival.
Elaine from Clean Coasts did an outdoor workshop covering topics such as the marine environment, common litter around the world and then focused on sewage related litter. The group did a beach clean and found a large amount of wipes lodged in the seaweed. Elaine did some experiments to further highlight the issue with sewage related litter. She also talked about the issue of pouring fats, oils, and greases (FOGs) from cooking down the kitchen sink. These FOGs can combine with other sewage related litter to form fatbergs. Uisce Éireann clears thousands of blockages including fatbergs from the wastewater network every year. The Think Before Pour campaign asks everyone to never pour FOGs down the drain but to dispose of them in the bin once cool.
Elaine said “It was great to have an outdoor classroom with the Red Cross Youths in Tralee. We did a beach clean, played games and talked about common types of litter including sewage related litter, a big issue in Tralee. The young people were very engaged and really got stuck in. It is important to not only educate people about topics such as sewage related litter but do beach cleans and classrooms in nature so they can learn about and see the issues first hand. ”