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C leanliness on a par with European norms, says report

People enjoy a stroll at Bray Seafront. Photo: Tony Gavin 2013

Bray Tidy Towns and in particular its seafront team has received high praise in a new IBAL Coastal Survey, carried out during June and July this year.

T he annual nationwide survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) of beaches and harbours has shown Bray seafront to be again ‘Clean to European Norms’, while Brittas Bay slipped to ‘moderately littered’.

The report scored Bray highly and declared Bray seafront as one of eight Irish beaches to be “Clean to European Norms”.

The categories below that level are: moderately littered, littered and heavily littered. Brittas Bay fell into the moderately littered category but is alongside other famous beaches like Kerry’s Ballybunion and Wexford’s Curracloe.

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The report’s comments say Bray’s extensive beach area, promenade, associated grass area with its playgrounds, PE Equipment etc. and pedestrian and cycle paths were all excellent with regards to litter.

Large infrastructural works in Bray continue to enhance the area. The report sighted the paving around the band-stand that looked fantastic. Also receiving praise, the way the surrounding area was further adorned with abundant colourful planting.

The report noted, the area is very well served by litter bins, both permanent and temporary ones.

The only caveat was an observation that stated, considering the vastness of the area and the volume of people using the facilities, there were minimal opportunities for separating waste. Perhaps this could be rolled out as part of the overall works taking place.

Chair of Bray Tidy Towns, Mimi Megannety was full of praise for the team effort but also Bray Municipal District Council who played a huge role in this success.

Mimi said: “Ultimately we want to see less rubbish discarded. We need to look at the type of packaging that day traders in particular coming to the seafront use, and eliminate any non recyclables like polystyrene.

“If we did that the amount of rubbish at the seafront would drop by a quarter.”

Cathaoirleach of Bray Municipal District, Aoife Flynn added: “I was delighted to see the very strong results for the seafront area in the IBAL survey. Both the council staff and local volunteer groups deserve praise for the excellent condition of the seafront including grass areas, promenade, beach and playgrounds. Some commercial businesses are playing a role too, and I would love to see more of this.” 

Commenting on Brittas Bay the report states there was a virtual absence of litter on the long stretch of beach at Brittas Bay. But a series of minor litter issues affected the outcome.

Life-belts, coastal erosion signage, Blue Flag notices and recycle bins were in good condition. Audio recording relating to dogs on beaches was activated by a sensor at the entrance to the beach from both car parks.

Unsurprisingly there was a fall-off in Covid masks and gloves found, but also in alcohol-related litter which was linked to lockdown. Coffee cups remained a significant litter item, however, present in half of the areas surveyed. The most common forms of litter found by the assessors were cigarette butts, sweet wrappers and plastic bottles.

he report highlighted some other startling facts such as 10 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans each year. It is estimated that there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans within 30 years and research shows a single cigarette butt can contaminate up to 200 litres of water.

Cllr Erika Doyle said: “I have often seen individuals out with litter pickers and bags, and these civic minded people are not to be forgotten.

“One thing noted in the survey is that lack of options to separate waste and I’ll be following up on this to see if it’s something we can introduce.

“The seafront in Bray is not only our centre of tourism but a beloved spot for locals for all types of activities, from swimming and cycling to picnics and walks, it makes sense for our community to come together and keep it clean for our enjoyment.”

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