The latest IBAL coastal litter survey shows a mixed bag for some popular swimming and beach areas in Galway
Lough Rea has been given a clean status, but Dog's Bay beach is once again littered, while Salthill has slipped to moderately littered.
Nationally, there's been a drop in the number of beaches across the country branded 'littered', with 17 out of 33 deemed clean this summer.
The An Taisce report for Lough Rea stated:
“Loughrea was an exceptionally freshly presented and maintained environment, with almost all aspects in very good order - there was a virtual absence of litter throughout. A couple of the dog fouling bins (e.g. 'Dog Litter Only') would be much enhanced with a lick of paint. The drinking water fountain is always a welcome feature in any outdoor environment, with the added bonus of the 'Reduce, Reuse, Refill' messaging. There were no visible items within the water, just the occasional land-based fast-food wrappers and sweet papers. Remarkably, there were no cigarette butts noted.
The An Taisce report for Dog’s Bay stated:
“The Dog's Bay visitor information signage with water quality results etc and the 'Special Area of Conservation' signage (which included 'Leave Nothing but Footprints, Take Nothing but Photos' ) were freshly presented, creating a welcoming impression. The main beach area was generally free of typical litter.The real litter issue was in the car parking area / around the Portaloo's / the path leading along the rocks / at the fencing set up to protect the sand-dunes - the latter harboured what would appear to be wind borne items, while the area to the rear of the Portaloo's had bags of rubbish. Just behind the wall of the car park there was evidence of a camp-fire: clothing / towels / shoes were found scattered both in the car park and along the shoreline. Fishing related items e.g. crates / ropes were present along the path by the rocks, along with some food related litter e.g. coffee cups.”
The An Taisce report for Salthill stated:
“The regular bin units / cigarette butt disposal facilities and recycling units were freshly presented and not full / overflowing. Bio Based Carbon Captured bags (seemingly made from sugar cane) are likely a good alternative regular plastic bags - these were spotted hanging up in the changing room area, perhaps for the use of the public, as the main bins are located further along the walkway. The provision of a water fountain is certainly welcome one in any waterside environment. The main litter items were significant levels of cigarette butts, with lower levels of bottle caps (trapped in the sand) cans (both mineral and alcohol), utensils (both plastic and wooden), sweet wrappers and fishing related items included lines / nets / ropes - these were primarily along the beach area.”
