The latest survey of a selection of the country’s coastal and inland waterways has seen two Galway beaches singled out for criticism, with Dog’s Bay in particular landing close to the bottom of the league table due to ongoing problems with litter at the popular bathing spot.
Salthill, meanwhile, was labelled ‘moderately littered’, a slip in its previous classification in the annual survey, carried out by An Taisce on behalf of pressure group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL ).
Top marks among the three Galway locations inspected went to Lough Rea, which inspectors found to be “an exceptionally freshly presented and maintained environment”.
According to an report, the lake shore was virtually devoid of litter.
“A couple of the dog fouling bins (eg, ‘Dog Litter Only’ ) would be much enhanced with a lick of paint,” the inspector added. “The drinking water fountain is always a welcome feature in any outdoor environment, with the added bonus of the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Refill’ messaging. There were no visible items within the water, just the occasional land-based fast-food wrappers and sweet papers. Remarkably, there were no cigarette butts noted.”
Salthill slips to ‘moderately littered’
The report found much to praise when it came to Salthill’s beaches, apart from the litter found along the strand.
Inspectors were particularly impressed with the bins along the Promenade, which included cigarette butt disposal facilities and recycling units, all of which were well presented and obviously emptied regularly. They also praised the use of biodegradable waste bags in the changing areas, and the provision of a water fountain.
“The main litter items were significant levels of cigarette butts, with lower levels of bottle caps (trapped in the sand ) cans (both mineral and alcohol ), utensils (both plastic and wooden ), sweet wrappers and fishing related items included lines / nets / ropes - these were primarily along the beach area,” the report added.
At Dog’s Bay, inspectors found the beach itself to be in good order, but the car park and ancillary areas were heavily littered, resulting in the popular Roundstone beach being deemed second worst site in the country for litter.
“The Dog’s Bay visitor information signage with water quality results, etc and the ‘Special Area of Conservation’ signage (which included ‘Leave Nothing but Footprints, Take Nothing but Photos’ ) were freshly presented, creating a welcoming impression,” the report stated. “The main beach area was generally free of typical litter.”
However the areas encompassing the car park, portable toilets, pathways, and the fencing set up the protect the sand dunes were strewn with wind-borne litter, and bags of rubbish were found behind the portaloos. Inspectors also found evidence of a camp fire, discarded towels and clothing scattered in the car park and shoreline, and various litter related to fishing and food consumption.
A total of 33 beaches, harbours, and rivers around the country, along with their immediate environs, were monitored by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL in June and July. Seventeen were deemed ‘clean’, a 50 per cent rise on the previous survey, while the number of areas branded ’littered’ fell from 11 to just three. No area was placed in the lowest category of ‘heavily littered’.
“This is by far the most favourable result we have seen in 8 years of coastal surveys,” said 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, and 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 per cent 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 per cent of the sites surveyed.
According to National Geographic, about eight million tons of plastic waste escape into the oceans from coastal nations annually - the equivalent of five full rubbish bags for every foot of coastline in the world. Over 2,000 species of wildlife, some endangered, are affected by plastics.
Next month’s Big Beach Clean Up is an annual call to action organised by An Taisce’s Clean Coasts, which is expected to attract more than 600 groups and 15,000 volunteers to the country’s beaches over a single weekend, from September 19 to 21. To find out more visit cleancoasts.org
