Strandhill beach has been branded ‘littered’, and lost the clean status it received last year.
The news was confirmed in the annual nationwide survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) of beaches and harbours which has been published this morning.
The survey describes Killybegs Harbour as being ‘moderately littered’ and has also classed Bundoran beach in the littered category section.
The report says the overall presentation of the promenade in Strandhill along with associated parking, bins, signage and seating was fresh and generally quite good but there was a definite litter presence.
The report claims that Strandhill was let down by occasional food or alcohol related items along the promenade and items within the rock armour and that cigarette butts and dog fouling were also present.
Dog fouling signage was found to be in good order but only present at the southern end of the site.
There were no visible ‘litter awareness notices ‘ or facilities for the separation of waste recycling which the report claims is a real missed opportunity at a popular beach-side environment.
The report for Killybegs harbour stated: “There were substantial improvements noted at the town side of Killybegs, particularly regarding new planters (e.g. at the picnic tables / seating area) and seemingly less litter in the immediate vicinity of the tourist office. There was a variety of litter bin types, some of which were completely closed, preventing the foraging from same.
Overall, the site presented well with small litter accumulations (mainly food and alcohol related) along the promenade and in between the rock armour; cigarette butts / chewing gum were pronounced along the promenade and car parks; there was a notable improvement in the presence of dog fouling compared to last year .
The removal of litter bins along the promenade during a summer season is somewhat perplexing..”
The report for Bundoran stated: “There was a very heavy cigarette butt presence along the edges of the promenade and at the seating areas – there were no visible cigarette butt disposal units and signage relating to same in the area.
Soft plastic items were found along the tide line, most likely washed in, but it was the litter along the promenade and car park which really brought down the litter grade – this is so preventable and manageable. The overflowing litter bins along the promenade made the problem worse.
Some bins had been removed from dog fouling bag dispensing stations and an unsightly broken dog fouling bag dispenser is still in place; hopefully the wall under the lifeguard station will be much enhanced once the artwork is complete; the ‘Beach Toy Library’ looks like a great scheme – ‘Borrow – Play – Return’ – this is something that could be rolled out throughout the country; the ‘2 Minute Beach Clean’ Board was in good condition; Some hard-hitting dog fouling signage ‘Clean Up after your Dog and Stop Disease’ had been defaced. Black, covered, litter bins, with small apertures (presumably to prevent the deposit of household waste) looked very fresh.”
