THERE was a mixed bag for Cork’s coastal areas in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) league results, with Castledownbere harbour attaining ‘clean’ status but Bantry, Ballinacurra and Kinsale found to be ‘moderately littered’.
In all 33 beaches, harbours, rivers and their immediate environs were monitored by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL in June and July.
Of those 17 were deemed ‘clean’, a 50% rise on the previous survey, while the number of areas branded ‘littered’ fell from 11 to just three. Again, no area was placed in the lowest category ‘heavily littered’.
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% 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.
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 over 600 groups and 15,000 volunteers nationwide to our beaches over a single weekend, from September 19th to 21st.
The report noted that the overall impression at Castletownbere was ‘a very positive one’ with ‘just a small number of marine related items at fishing port and typical food items at car parking area’.
The ‘cigarette butts here please’ signage on plant containers outside various premises were lauded, as were marine-themed murals reminding visitors that ‘we are all tied to the ocean’.
Judges noted a ‘definite litter presence’ at Ballinacurra along the riverside, primarily food and alcohol related including beer cans, bottles, fast food wrappers, coffee cups and sweet wrappers.
A shopping trolley was spotted dumped in the water. The report noted: ‘The derelict building presents poorly and has attracted anti-social behaviour, evidence of a ‘drinking spot’ and high levels of grafitti.’
Bantry town square was deemed to be ‘attractively presented’ with ‘lovely paving, seating, colourful planting’.
Litter was primarily fast food wrappers, coffee cups and bottles.
In Kinsale the litter bins, seating areas, colourful flower boxes, and a drinking water station all came in for praise.
Litter trapped in seaweed was noted along with dog fouling. Buoys, floats, car tyres and traffic cones were observed dumped in the water.
White Bay did not fare so well. Judges found: ‘ This beautifully located beach, with stunning views from the car park, and pedestrian approach was not just casually littered but subject to dumping. The first impression in the car park was a poor one - there was a bag of household rubbish, along with litter lining the surrounding fence.’
Conor Horgan of IBAL said: ‘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.’
He continued: ‘The coffee cup levy seems to have died with the last Government, but these findings show that the case for it has not died.
‘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. 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.
