Waterford students clean up the city and county with litter challenge

Ten Waterford secondary schools were represented at a reception in City Hall recently in recognition of their dedication to keeping their local areas litter-free.

The students took on the Schools Litter Challenge, now in its fourth year, which saw secondary schools from across the city and county partake in the challenge.

As part of the eight-week challenge, secondary school students identified litter black spots in their communities and carried out regular litter picking of the area.

The competition, which was launched in October last year, encourages secondary schools to keep a designated local area litter free.

In addition, the students learned about the sources of litter, and about the benefits of reusing and recycling items.

Waterpark College emerged as the overall winner of the Schools Litter Challenge, and received €1,500 prize money.

The secondary schools from across County Waterford that entered the competition were: Blackwater Community School, St Augustine’s College, Ardscoil na nDeise, Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School, Mount Sion CBS Secondary School, Waterpark College (Overall Winner), Ursuline Secondary School, Dungarvan CBS, De La Salle College (Highly Commended), and St. Paul’s Community College.

Prior to the awarding of certificates to the participating schools, Mayor of Waterford City and County, Cllr. Jason Murphy said: “I am delighted to welcome the participating schools to the Mayor’s Parlour this morning and must pay tribute to the trojan work they have undertaken throughout this Schools Litter Challenge. Now in its fourth year, it’s refreshing to see the enthusiasm and dedication from the students and their teachers hasn’t waned as each one continues to make a real difference in their local communities.

“It’s also refreshing and assuring to know that this generation of young people is dedicated and passionate about enhancing their communities, keeping them litter free, protecting the biodiversity of the area and being proactive in diminishing the environmental harm that litter, particularly single use plastics, causes.” 

Waterford City and County Council provided bags, gloves, litter pickers and high visibility vests to all schools and Tom Murphy Car Sales Toyota sponsored the €1,500 prize for the winning school. Tom Murphy said it was inspiring to see the dedication and enthusiasm that the students put into this contest every year: “Creating cleaner and greener streets around our beautiful county should be a top priority, and these students are excellent role models for all of us. The competition grows in strength every year and is something we look forward to supporting again with Waterford City and County Council and Waterford Chamber. I must say congratulations to Waterpark College on winning this year competition and a very special thank you to all the schools, students and teachers that took part, and to Toyota who have embraced this competition from the start.” 

Ella Ryan, Environmental Awareness Officer with Waterford City and County Council commented: “Well done to all the students and their teachers for once again embracing this initiative with such energy and commitment. Creating cleaner, greener localities and communities has so many positive effects, encouraging us all to make small changes that have a big impact.”