The annual survey of coasts and inland waterways by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) shows the majority of area attaining ‘clean’ status, among them Tramore but Dungarvan slipping to ‘moderately littered’.
33 beaches, harbours, rivers and their immediate environs were monitored by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL in June and July. 17 were deemed ‘clean’, a 50% rise on the previous survey, while the number of areas branded ’littered’ fell from 11 to just 3. Again, no area was placed in the lowest category “heavily littered”.
The An Taisce report for Tramore stated:
“Tramore Beach, promenade and immediate hinterland were freshly presented and very good with regards to litter – fitting for a Blue Flag beach. The area is exceptionally well served by litter bins – this appears to be sending a clear message and is having the desired effect. The bins were well maintained, not full / over-flowing and dedicated pizza bins were provided. The ‘Beach Borrow Box – Please Leave or Borrow a Toy’ needs better management – discarded towel, a pair of flip-flps, alcohol bottle and cigarette butts were amongst the items found within the Beach Borrow Box. Apart from the items left at Borrow Box, the overall impression created at Tramore Beach was a very positive one.”
The An Taisce report for Dungarvan stated:
“A lovely waterside environment, including the beautiful Walton Park with water feature, ‘olde style’ streetlamps, abundance of planting and seating areas – all of which were in very good order. However, some of the wooden seating had been defaced by the scratching of names onto the slats of wood. The street art on the utility boxes at the harbour were eye-catching and well maintained. Items other than plastic bottles had been deposited in the dedicated ‘Plastic Bottle Recycle feature’ (in the shape of a bottle). There were no traces of litter in the harbour, just land-based items – primarily cigarette butts, with lower levels of food related items including lollipop sticks, coffee cups, fast-food wrappers and sweet papers. The tops of alcohol bottles had become lodged within the grass.”
“This is by far the most favourable result we have seen in 8 years of coastal surveys,” says Conor Horgan of IBAL. “The trojan and ever-expanding work of clean coasts groups and other volunteers is instrumental in this, as is the investment by councils in facilities around our beaches. Legislative measures, such as the tethering of caps to plastic bottles and the Deposit Return Scheme, are contributing factors. It appears also that local authorities have upped their game in responding to busy periods at our beaches.”
Cigarette butts, sweet papers, fast food wrappers were the most commonly found litter items. The first coastal survey conducted since the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme showed a 30% drop in the prevalence of plastic bottles and cans. Vapes were less prevalent than in previous studies, but there was no fall in coffee cup litter, which was found in 42% of the sites surveyed.
“The coffee cup levy seems to have died with the last Government, but these findings show that the case for it has not died,” commented Conor Horgan. “Coffee cups have become a permanent addition to the suite of litter items regularly found on our beaches. It’s not just their visual impact – many contain plastic, which threatens sea life and in turn our very survival. ‘Coffee cup-free’ coastal areas, along the lines of the Killarney model, would be very welcome.” In 2022, Killarney became the first town in Ireland to phase out single-use coffee cups.
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