Wrigleys cough up for Spring Clean

CONSIDERING that chewing gum is responsible for much of our litter, it is appropriate that the makers of Wrigleys should dig deep to help keep our streets clean.

The Wrigley Company, along with Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland, are the primary commercial sponsors of the National Spring Clean campaign, an annual event which draws ten of thousands of environmentally conscious people onto the highways and byways.

This year a quarter of a million volunteers contributed to the An Taisce initiative, by far the biggest participation ever. More than 3,000 clean-ups were conducted nationwide, an achievement described as outstanding by Pat the Cope Gallagher, Junior Minister at the Department of Environment and Local Government.

"This is due in no small part to the efforts and ingenuity of local authorities, schools and businesses and individuals around the country who take pride in their surroundings and took the time to get involved and make this year's campaign such an accomplishment," he said.

Patricia Oliver, Chairperson of National Spring Clean, said she was "delighted with the outstanding success of this year's campaign".

The campaign, which operated under the tag line "Litter It's YOUR Responsibility!" saw a number of clean-up activities take place throughout the country in April and May.

"Despite this year's success however, we must continue to take collective responsibility for what is still a serious problem and one which has the potential to damage our economy," said Ms Oliver.

"We must all play a role in educating each other not to drop litter in order to alter our attitudes and behaviour towards the issue and to encourage each other to participate in initiatives like National Spring Clean wherever we live or work."

All groups participating in National Spring Clean were issued with a free clean up kit which included specially coded recycling bags provided by Repak.

Jo Hartop of Wrigleys said her company believed in taking responsibility for keeping the streets clean. "We have been working with An Taisce for the past five years on National Spring Clean," she said. "It is only through prolonged sustained education that we can change people's behaviour."