A nationwide litter survey shows an increase in coastal areas that are littered.
The Irish Business Against Litter group reported the majority of Ireland’s beaches and harbours are falling short of clean status, among them Bundoran and Killybegs
Killybegs remains ‘moderately littered’ while Bundoran has dropped to ‘littered’ in the survey of 32 coastal areas around Ireland.
Conor Horgan from Irish Business Against Litter, says the results aren’t as bad as expected considering coastal areas are being heavily used during the pandemic:
The An Taisce report for Killybegs stated:
“While the harbour / pier areas were generally quite clean, it was the litter along the promenade area which brought down the litter grade. The main items were fast-food related, (particularly from take-aways) cigarette butts and dog fouling (both bagged and unbagged). While the dog fouling signage was in good order and related to the fact it is prohibited, the signage was not as hard hitting as other signage in some parts of the country (e.g. Dog Fouling is a threat to the health of our children, degrades our country, can transmit disease). Some litter items had also been discarded over the promenade wall. It would seem that a couple of street bins along the southern end of the promenade had been removed (recessed areas), perhaps these could be reinstated, combined with enhanced sweeting and installation of more dog fouling and butt disposal facilities.”
The report for Bundoran stated:
“While the beach itself had scattered litter, it was the heavier presence along the promenade and car park areas which really brought down the litter grade. Cigarette butts, fast-food wrappers and sweet papers were the most obvious types, with lower levels of a wide variety of food related items and other miscellaneous items e.g. small items of clothing, wipes etc. Small amounts of broken up plastic, polystyrene and rope were found around the beach area. The promenade was well served by litter bins, including two dog fouling bins, all of which were well maintained. The provision of cigarette disposal stations could certainly help the cigarette butt issue and the broken dog fouling bag dispenser should either be replaced or removed. More litter awareness notices and an enhanced street sweeping regime along the promenade / car park area could also make a big difference.”
