Donabate/Portrane Tidy Towns were busy over the last number of months doing a clear out along the perimeter walls and the hedging and ditch areas behind the cemetery. Over the years, these areas had become a bit of a dumping ground for a lot of waste plastic materials from the graves and had accumulated to an unsightly mess. Many volunteers spent a number of evenings emptying the ditches of refuse and bringing it to the front of the cemetery for collection by Fingal County Council. The rubbish collected was primarily plastic flowers, candles, grave ornaments and grave maintenance items, such as paint and left over marble. There was however evidence of domestic waste dumped with full rubbish bags, parts from chairs and suitcases among what was removed.
Quite often these ditches were water logged and not very accessible but perseverance saw the clear out through to the end and we would like to thank all volunteers who participated in the clean up.
As a result of the clean up, the hedgerows and ditches have become a more pleasant home for some of the plants and animals that may call this area of Donabate their home. Hedgehogs, badgers, foxes, birds, insects, etc do not have to be moving, feeding and living in an area with large sacks of rubbish and bits of plastic from the cemetery. We hope wildlife and biodiversity will improve as a result. There are two rubbish bays located in the cemetery, one in the middle part at the top perimeter wall and the second just on the right hand side as you enter and we would ask all visitors visiting the cemetery to leave any refuse in one of those bays for collection by Fingal County Council. Our pictures show the same spaces before and after the clean up, well done to all concerned.