Two skip loads of litter collected from airport roads

Two skip loads of litter collected from roads leading to Knock airport


Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

Two skip loads of litter lying along the side of the road leading to Ireland West Airport Knock were collected by up to 50 volunteers in a big clean-up on Sunday morning.
While the majority was general litter such as cans, bottles and food-related litter, other items such as oil drums, bicycle wheels and blown out tyres were pulled from the ditches.
The major clean-up initiative was organised by Mayo County Council and a number of Tidy Towns Committees with the emphasis on cleaning up the approach roads to the airport for the year of the Gathering.
“There were five tidy town committees on the day but the majority of people were just individuals who came on the day to volunteer and help out. We started at the airport and made our way down to the end of the airport road at the N17 and cleaned along the side of the towards Charlestown and Claremorris. Twenty-three bags of rubbish were taken from the N17 which amounted to two skip loads,” said Sharon Cameron, the Environmental Protection Officer for Mayo County Council.
Some of the rubbish pulled from the side of the roads had been there for well over a decade and Ms Cameron said that unfortunately she was expecting the amount of litter they found. She said the approach roads to the airport were so important to the county as it is the first impression for most visitors when they arrive and it was important they are kept tidy.
As well as the visual impact the rubbish has, she said the majority of the rubbish is not biodegradable and will remain there for hundreds of years and is dangerous to the environment and the wildlife.

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