Beach bins could be a ‘thing of past' after Myrtleville incident

By SiobhAn Cronin & Kieran O’Mahony

A WEST Cork councillor has said that rubbish bins on West Cork beaches could become a thing of the past, following a littering incident at Myrtleville last weekend.

‘A lot of beaches in West Cork do not have bins provided and Cork County Council won’t change their policy on this. People using the beaches are encouraged to bring their rubbish home and for example there are no bins in Inchydoney or Courtmacsherry,’ said Cllr Paul Hayes. ‘Myrtleville Beach could perhaps be one of the last beaches to have bins provided and after what happened last weekend, I would imagine the Council will get rid of them.’

 He said new signs are being erected in West Cork by the Council in the coming weeks advising beach-goers to bring their rubbish home, as well as cleaning up after their dogs.’

Crosshaven photographer Howard Crowdy’s photos of the overflowing bins, along with several discarded plastic bottles, a back-pack, shoes and nappies at Myrtleville beach have resulted in calls for a ban on some plastics.

When The Southern Star asked Cork County Council for its policy on beach cleaning and the frequency of emptying bins, the following statement was issued: ‘People are advised to pack it in / pack it out and respect facilities where they are made available, it was scenes like this that gave rise to the pack it in pack it out as a national programme.’

‘It seems to be an ongoing problem and not just confined to Myrtleville,’ said photographer Howard Crowdy, who added that somebody had placed the extra rubbish in black bins overnight on Monday. ‘A bit of warm weather and people just flock to the beach. At least some people attempted to put their rubbish into the bins, but once they saw they were full, decided to leave them on the ground, hoping they’d be collected.’