IRELAND: Litter is on the rise again on Irish beaches

    Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

Dublin: Litter levels are on the rise again, with coffee cups replacing Covid masks as a scourge of beaches and harbours across Ireland, according to a new survey.

It showed that only eight of the 33 areas monitored could be deemed “clean to European norms” with places branded “heavily littered” including Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock and Tolka River as well as Cork Harbour at Blackrock Castle.

This was down from 13 areas last year, and the survey found that Cork Harbour at Blackrock Castle and Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock and Tolka River were ‘heavily littered’.

Beaches, harbours, rivers and their immediate environs were monitored by An Taisce in June and July.

While Tramore in Waterford was again clean, many popular beaches slipped to ‘moderately littered’ status, among them Lahinch Co Clare,  Brittas Bay and Curracloe in Wicklow, Portmarnock in Dublin, Strandhill in Sligo and Clogherhead Co Louth.

IBAL’s Conor Horgan said: “Unfortunately the improvement observed at our beaches last year seems to have reversed this time round.”

"We had hoped that the decrease in Covid-related litter, along with the fact that many people who had summer vacations last year would have gone abroad this summer, may lead to an improvement in overall cleanliness. While not overly cluttered, our most popular beaches are not as clean as they should be.

Bray's and Dun Laoghaire's seafronts were once more complimented, while Kinsale and Dingle, along with Bantry and Lough Rea, declined to "littered" status.

Dogs Bay in Galway and Castletownbere in Cork were two sites that had improvements.

In contrast An Taisce reported that Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock was found to have “heavy levels of a wide variety of litter, both alcohol and food related... litter was both land-based and water-based and long-lie and short-lie”.

"It's shocking to see how neglected an area is that has received millions of dollars in investment and draws a lot of business travellers. I don't think this would be permitted to continue in other European capitals, Horgan said.

There were "quite high levels of carelessly thrown food and alcohol products" at Dublin's Annesley Bridge, and the riverbed "continues to shelter larger, long-lie goods like shopping carts, scooters, clothing, and traffic cones."

An Taisce noted that there was "evidence of land-based dumping and other things including car tyres, construction signage, a rubber boat, and stroller" in Blackrock Castle, Cork, which contributed to a "heavily littered" assessment while appreciating the work of community organisations there.

There was a slight decrease in detected Covid masks and rubber gloves, but also in alcohol-related waste associated with the lockdown.

Coffee cups remained a major litter item, however, present in half of the areas surveyed.

The most common forms of litter found by evaluators were cigarette butts, sweet wrappers and plastic bottles.