Litter Picks for a Greener Campus
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In Ireland, high levels of consumption are driving up waste generation. As waste increases, so does the likelihood of it escaping bins and becoming litter. Litter is more than just an eyesore—it carries significant, often overlooked consequences. It makes its way into drains, waterways and hedgerows, eventually reaching the sea and adding to the trillions of pieces already polluting our oceans.
Litter disrupts the natural habitats of fish, birds, and other wildlife. To an unknowing animal, litter can easily be disguised as something for them to eat. This is a huge problem for our wildlife which may fill their stomachs with plastics and other rubbish, instead of energy-rich foods they need to survive.
Green Week Campus Litter Picks
TU Dublin Healthy Campus, led by Dr Teresa Hurley, and TU Dublin Sustainability organised a series of litter picks throughout Green Week 2025. Litter picks have many benefits and are a simple and effective way of removing large amounts of litter from an area through collective action. Litter picking activity not only benefits the environment, but enhances student and staff well-being, and promotes social responsibility.
Litter picking raises awareness about the environmental impacts of littering and encourages proactive efforts to keep our outdoor spaces clean. Research shows that people are less likely to create litter in a cleaner environment - a key driver of more litter is the presence of litter.
Litter picks took place in four out of five campus locations throughout Green Week - Blanchardstown, Bolton Street, Grangegorman and Tallaght. Blanchardstown and Tallaght campuses are home to waterways, making litter picks at these sites especially impactful by preventing waste from flowing into nearby waterbodies.
Throughout the week 31 students and staff participated and prevented 25 bags of rubbish from polluting our campus spaces.
As part of the Green-Campus Open Call 2024, Litter Picks was awarded a micro grant to progress the themes:
- Litter & Waste and Biodiversity (Green-Campus themes)
- Waste and Biodiversity (Climate Action Roadmap objectives)
The funding enabled all volunteers to receive a voucher for tea/coffee and pastry to take part in this initiative.
Community Impact
The litter picks fostered connections with staff and students who might not otherwise have crossed paths—let alone worked together towards a shared goal. Bringing people together around shared purpose enhances both mental and physical well-being by fostering social connections and encouraging physical activity. A clean, tidy environment can also enhance a sense of pride and encourage further positive actions.
Speaking about her participation in the litter pick staff member Corrine Groble said:
I loved helping with litter pick, not only because we could see immediate results from our hard work but we also knew we were tending to something for the future - when the Poddle walk wasn't all dried mud and wintery stalks but the daisies and dandelions and honeysuckle of summer. It was a wonderful way to contribute and collaborate with staff and students.
Shared Impact
At TU Dublin we are committed to progressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through collaboration and action. This project addresses SDG 15: Life on Land, specifically the call for urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats and halt the loss of biodiversity and to protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species. This project aligns with SDG 13: Climate Action, part of which aims to improve education, awareness-raising and human capacity on climate change mitigation.
This project aligns with the Green-Campus theme of Litter & Waste. Under this theme we explore the practical means for preventing, reducing and minimising the amount of litter and waste produced by the campus community. As part of our Climate Action Roadmap, we aim to reduce all types of waste on campus.
Green-Campus Open Call
The Green-Campus Open Call can help bring ideas like these to life by making micro-grants available to selected projects. The next Green-Campus Open Call will open in October 2025. .png)