Whats New

  • Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles scoops up two awards at Caravan & Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year 2024
  • Over 46 tonnes of litter removed across Ireland for the Big Beach Clean this September
  • Reduce Plastic Waste – Refill Your Bottle at 8 of our Busiest Stations
  • Winter Is Coming: Stark family’s iconic costume display launched at Game of Thrones Studio Tour
  • Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid takes Caravan & Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year 2024
  • Home
  • News
  • Notice Board
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Book Reviews
    • T.V.
    • Video
  • Tow Car Reports
  • CARAVAN PARK REVIEWS
  • Contact
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • RSS Feed
    • Linked
    • Youtube

New IBAL survey reveals almost 40% of rivers, beaches & harbours “littered”

Aug 13, 2018 Advice, News, Waterways 0


New IBAL survey reveals almost 40% of rivers, beaches & harbours “littered”
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Only 8% of areas surveyed were deemed ‘clean’
  • Parts of Cork Harbour and Doolin Pier branded litter blackspots
  • Need to address litter issue in parts of Wild Atlantic Way

The first nationwide survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) of Ireland’s rivers, beaches and harbours has revealed that only 4 of 50 areas surveyed were deemed “Clean to European Norms”. Almost 40% were littered or heavily littered, with some areas in Cork Harbour and Doolin Pier in Clare classified as litter blackspots.

In what is set to be annual survey, IBAL commissioned the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce to monitor beaches, harbours, rivers and their immediate environs over the course of the summer. Just one beach, at Salthill, was deemed clean, while the popular resorts of Lahinch and Bundoran were both littered. Parts of the River Shannon at Lanesborough in Longford and Carrick on Shannon were assessed as Clean to European Norms, but the Shannon at Portumna in Galway was heavily littered, as was the River Suir in Waterford City.

The An Taisce report praised Kinsale Harbour as “remarkably free of litter for a busy harbour attracting lots of tourists.“ Salthill was notable for “a virtual absence of litter throughout the beach, promenade, changing and parking areas.” By contrast, the assessor cited “large accumulations of litter” such as “wood pallets, plastic containers and pieces of large plastic” in the area at Blackrock Castle in Cork Harbour, while the Ballinacurra-Midleton area of Cork Harbour was described as “a persistently heavily littered site throughout”. The Pier at Doolin was criticized for its “high levels of litter and dumping” adding “for any tourists it is a very unpleasant site”.

“We know the success of the Wild Atlantic Way is placing strains on infrastructure of various kinds. Litter is a likely consequence of this and one local authorities need to manage to ensure the appeal of the Way is sustained,” contends IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan.

The results contrast with those of IBAL’s recent surveys of towns across the country which show 75% of areas to be clean, compared to just 8% in this survey. “Sadly, accumulations of litter in and around our waterways are a common sight in Ireland and this is borne out by these disappointing results,” comments Horgan. “If we can call our towns clean, we cannot say the same for the areas around our beaches and rivers. It took almost ten years of naming and shaming for local authorities to get to grips with litter in our towns. IBAL has set about pushing for a similar turnabout in respect of coastal areas and waterways.”

IBAL has been publishing litter surveys since 2002 as part of its Anti-Litter League programme, which has helped bring about a spectacular shift in litter levels. 16 years ago, less than 10% of the towns surveyed were deemed ‘Clean’. The most recent report shows three-quarters of towns attaining Clean status.

“The objective of this new campaign is to rid our coasts and waterways of litter, as they are central to the country’s appeal to visitors and an integral part of the clean image we project. Aside from this commercial motivation, our research brings into focus the broader issue of marine litter and the need to stem the vast amounts of plastic and other litter which is entering and killing our oceans.”

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

“We are a small island and often subject to wet and windy weather. When someone casually drops a plastic bottle or cigarette butt on the street, the likelihood of it being blown into a local river or swept into a drain to then enter the sea is very high,” continues Horgan. “This litter isn’t just unsightly, it is contributing to lasting, potentially irreparable damage to our planet. This is the new face of litter.”

Worldwide, billions of kilos of disgarded plastic can be found in swirling convergences in the oceans, making up about 40 percent of the world’s ocean surfaces. For every foot of coastline in the world, the equivalent of 5 grocery bags filled with plastic ends up in our oceans each year. By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.

Litter survey – rivers, beaches and harbours*

*areas surveyed comprise waterfront and immediate environs

 

Clean to European norms
Kinsale Harbour Cork
Salthill Galway
River Shannon (Carrick-on-Shannon) Leitrim
River Shannon (Lanesboro) Longford
Moderately littered
Ballybunion Kerry
Ballycotton Cork
River Blackwater (Fermoy) Cork
River Blackwater (Youghal) Cork
River Boyne (Navan) Meath
Brittas Bay Wicklow
Cork Harbour (Crosshaven) Cork
River Corrib (Galway City) Galway
Curracloe Wexford
River Dargle (Bray) Wicklow
Dun Laoghaire Dublin
River Garravogue (Sligo town) Sligo
Kilkee Clare
Killybegs Donegal
Kilmore Quay Wexford
Kinvara Galway
River Laune (Killorglin) Kerry
Loughrea Galway
River Moy (Ballina) Mayo
River Nore (Kilkenny) Kilkenny
Portmarnock Dublin
Rosslare Harbour Wexford
Seapoint Dublin
River Shannon (Athlone) Westmeath
River Shannon (Foynes) Limerick
Skerries Dublin
River Suir (Clonmel) Tipperary
Tramore Waterford
Littered
River Avoca (Arklow) Wicklow
Balbriggan Dublin
River Barrow (Carlow town) Carlow
Bundoran Donegal
Dingle Kerry
Grand Canal Dock, Dublin Dublin
Lahinch Clare
River Shannon (Limerick UL) Limerick
River Slaney (Wexford) Wexford
Heavily littered
Bantry Cork
River Boyne (Drogheda) Louth
Clogher Head Louth
River Shannon (Portumna) Galway
River Suir (Waterford City) Waterford
River Tolka (Annesley Bridge) Dublin
Litter blackspots
Cork Harbour (Ballinacurra, Midleton) Cork
Cork Harbour (Blackrock Castle) Cork
Doolin Pier Clare
Tweet

Related Posts :

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles scoops up two ...
Over 46 tonnes of litter removed across Irela...
Reduce Plastic Waste - Refill Your Bottle at ...
Winter Is Coming: Stark family's iconic costu...

  • tweet
Limited edition Volkswagen California to mark 30 Years High level of rubbish in Ireland’s waterways a threat to angling tourism

More in this category
  • Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles scoops up two awards at Caravan & Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year 2024
    Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles scoops...

    0

  • Over 46 tonnes of litter removed across Ireland for the Big Beach Clean this September
    Over 46 tonnes of litter removed across...

    0

  • Reduce Plastic Waste – Refill Your Bottle at 8 of our Busiest Stations
    Reduce Plastic Waste – Refill...

    0

  • Winter Is Coming: Stark family’s iconic costume display launched at Game of Thrones Studio Tour
    Winter Is Coming: Stark family’s...

    0


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Caravan Cruise

Magazine

Newsletter

News

  • Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles scoops up two awards at Caravan & Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year 2024
  • Over 46 tonnes of litter removed across Ireland for the Big Beach Clean this September
  • Reduce Plastic Waste – Refill Your Bottle at 8 of our Busiest Stations
  • Winter Is Coming: Stark family’s iconic costume display launched at Game of Thrones Studio Tour
  • Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid takes Caravan & Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year 2024
  • Belfast named UFO hotspot
  • Ireland Excels with 101 Green Flag Awards for Exceptional Public Parks and Green Spaces
  • New and refreshed Willerby models impress showgoers at flagship new event
  • “Four Seasons of Ferry” Brittany Ferries to boost its sailings from Ireland to France
  • 10 reasons to visit Killarney with the Kids this Autumn-Winter
  • Great Holiday Home Show a huge success
  • FIAT Professional Ducato elected “Best Camper Base” by the readers of Auto Zeitung, awarded in the “Camping Life Trophy”
  • O’Connell Championship Cup Presentation to St. Michael’s Rowing Club
  • Results of this year’s Big Butterfly Count revealed
  • Mayfield MD Debbie Jarmey bows out at the Great Holiday Home Show
  • Dún Laoghaire Harbour welcomes 100,000th cruise passenger!
  • Lippert returns to the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf with a large exhibition space
  • Finnebrogue foods returns to its roots with rebrand
  • 37th America’s Cup begins in the beautiful Catalan port of Vilanova i La Geltrú
  • Grand opening of the Great Holiday Home Show!
Copyright 2013 Caravancruise / All rights reserved