The annual survey of coasts and inland waterways by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) shows both Curracloe and Kilmore Quay deemed clean, an improvement on last year, when both were ‘moderately littered’. The study of 33 areas nationwide revealed our most littered areas to have cleaned up but the majority of beaches falling short of clean status, despite the unsettled summer meaning lower visitor numbers.
Beaches, harbours, rivers and their immediate environs were monitored by An Taisce in June and July. While there was a 50% rise in clean sites overall, the survey again found our coastal areas to be more littered than our towns, which IBAL researches as part of its Anti-Litter League programme.
The An Taisce report for Curracloe stated:
“A great result for Curracloe. It was a very freshly presented and maintained environment with the car park in good order and all associated amenities in good condition. The whole area was very good with regard to litter. The litter facilities were excellent – ample and covered and clear signage illustrating presence of same. Dog fouling facilities were excellent – elevated signage, mutt mitt and dog fouling bin. Signage asking patrons to ‘please leave empty pizza boxes at Coffee Break’. There was no litter associated with the Recycle Facility. The beach and associated facilities were well populated on day of one visit and yet there was a virtual absence of litter throughout.”
The An Taisce report for Kilmore Quay stated:
“Kilmore Quay was somewhat littered in 2022 but very much deserving of the top litter category this time around. It is a very freshly presented environment with paving, picnic tables, signage associated with the use of the immediate environment etc. all in very good condition. A colourful notice asks the public ‘In the interests of public health, please do not feed the seagulls’. There was minimal food related litter items throughout a large survey area, with just some minor marine related items e.g. fishing lines / nets / ropes / crates. Despite the lack of litter bins there were no litter issues of note. Dog fouling bag dispenser was devoid of bags with bagged dog fouling placed within. Evidence of general maintenance included the cutting back of heavy growth around the benches at the beach entrance.”
The popular beaches at Portmarnock and Lahinch deteriorated to ‘littered’ status,as did Dog’s Bay in Galway, while those at Bundoran, Ballybunion, Skerries and Strandhill were deemed ‘moderately littered’. Clean beaches included Killiney, Salthill and Tramore, as well as Brittas Bay, which improved on last year.
“Over an unsettled summer, where our beaches attracted far fewer numbers than normal, one might have expected the majority to be virtually free of litter,” says Conor Horgan of IBAL. “Unfortunately, this does not reflect the state of our coastal environment. There is much ‘long lie’ litter and waste coming in from the sea, and this is compounded by litter from those who continue to frequent our coastline despite the inclement weather.”
