Buncrana Tidy Towns embraces ‘Think Before You Flush & Pour’ campaign 

Buncrana Tidy Towns Clean Coasts Group held one of its regular beach clean-ups at Lady’s Bay in the town on Saturday, June 13.

They invited Auriel Robinson, Regional Officer for Co. Donegal to give a short talk on the ‘Think Before You Flush and Pour’ campaigns, run by Clean Coasts in collaboration with Uisce Eireann.

Buncrana is situated on stunning Lough Swilly, with two rivers flowing through the town.

Lady’s Bay on the Shore Road in Buncrana was chosen for this event, but there are three beaches along this coastline in the vicinity. This means the more volunteers there are, the better the chance of covering all the beaches.

Buncrana Tidy Towns is one of a number of groups that care about their local area and getting stuck in!

Auriel Robinson, Donegal’s Clean Coasts Regional Officer, said on the day: “As rivers meander through urban areas, they collect and transport materials which eventually will end up in the sea.”

“Lough Swilly is a haven for biodiversity, and Buncrana is situated right on the northeastern end of the Lough. Clean-ups and educational days and activities like this help raise awareness. We can all do our little bit to help the environment and nature, and anyone can get involved in beach cleaning or join a group that is local to them.”

The Think Before You Flush campaign works with local communities across Ireland, including Donegal, to raise awareness of the issues of flushing unsuitable items down the toilet and highlights the consequences of doing so.

These include blockages in our wastewater network and treatment plants, sewage overflows, and sewage-related litter ending up on our beaches and in our natural environment. The campaign message is simple: Only flush the 3Ps (pee, poo, and paper) down the toilet. Everything else goes in the bin.

While people appreciate the convenience of disposable wet wipes, facial pads, and dental floss, many are unaware of the problems associated with these items when inappropriately flushed down the toilet.

Research has found that just over one in five adults admit to regularly flushing items down the toilet that are known to cause blockages and can have detrimental effects on the wastewater network and the marine environment. Unlike toilet paper, which is designed to disintegrate quickly in our pipes and sewage systems, these other items do not break down easily.

On the day, Buncrana Tidy Towns Clean Coasts Group welcomed their Regional Officer, Auriel, who gave them a presentation on coastal awareness and biodiversity and went through the Think Before You Flush & Pour campaign with them. They then removed several bags of litter from Ladies Bay.

The Think before You Pour Campaign looks at the issue of pouring fats, oils, and greases (FOGs) from cooking down the kitchen sink. When FOGs cool down, they harden, and combined with wipes and other litter items such as hair and dental floss, they can create fatbergs, causing sewage overflows in our homes and businesses and polluting our rivers, lakes, and seas. Auriel showed them one of these on the day.

Join the campaign on social media @CleanCoasts and at www.cleancoasts.org. Learn more about the Think Before You Flush campaign at https://thinkbeforeyouflush.org/