A group of volunteers have been removing large items of rubbish such as mattresses, tyres and appliances from Bull Island in Dublin at low tide.
Once a week, a core group of long-term volunteers in the Bull Island Action Group venture out to dig the big pieces of waste out by hand.
"The area we're in now is the mouth of the Santry river on the inner shore of north Bull Island. A lot of rubbish here has come down the river. Today we've had mattresses, boots, a part of a washing machine, what looks like a water tank from a house, and more," volunteer Donal McGuirk said.
"If they're not removed by hand, they'll be here a long, long time. It's very muddy and you can sink while you're digging, so machinery won't work. What we do is, we dig them out and carry them up beyond the trees to solid ground, and then the council sends a tractor to take them away."
The group has been in action for over 20 years, conducting regular beach cleans in the area. During lockdown they had to scale back their efforts as they couldn't have large groups gathering to help out. Since then, however, they have been receiving a lot of requests from corporate groups who want their staff to take part in the clean-ups.
"It's also schools, scouts, sporting groups, and because they're doing a lot of what we've ordinarily done - the litter picking and so on - it frees us up to do this hard-core stuff that the people who aren't experienced can't do," he said. "The stuff we're looking at has to be wrestled out of the ground, it's not a discarded crisp packet. It means if we've voluntary groups helping with the day to day, then we are free to tackle this."
Bronagh Moore has been a member of the group for the last decade. Over that time she has noticed positive changes in the area, but she says there is always work to be done.
"That’s what you get the longer you're here, you tip away at the surface picking up the earbuds and the plastic bottles and the lids, then you dig a little bit more," she said.
"As the place is getting cleaner, for anyone who's thinking it's not working - our beaches are getting cleaner, but the work is getting bigger. The more time you are in an area, that's when you find the tyres and tents and all sorts of big things, and that takes more back work and a few more bits of equipment."
Though the work is "never-ending", Bronagh says you cannot lose sight of why you are doing it or let it get you down.
"I think you can achieve a lot with small actions, with a lot of people. What's the alternative? You do nothing? That's not an option. Everybody doing a little bit makes everything better." she said.
"It's doing something, you've got off the couch and made the effort, that's the hardest part. If everybody did a little bit of that across the globe, small actions have big impact, we've seen that."
Donal added: "Every time we come down here, we achieve something; there's payback, a reward, it has value. We're not being overcome or disheartened... We all have our part to play."
