Litter blight on the Blackwater
DISAPPOINTMENT AS IBAL JUDGES DEEM STRETCH OF RIVER IN FERMOY AS ‘MODERATELY LITTERED’
THE first ever survey undertaken by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) of Ireland’s coastal areas and inland waterways has not made for particularly pleasant reading from a Cork perspective.
Of the seven areas in Cork inspected just one was deemed to be ‘Clean To European Norms’, with two stretches of the River Blackwater in Fermoy and Youghal described by IBAL as being ‘moderately littered’.
Fermoy has consistently performed well over the years in IBAL’s annual anti-litter league, finishing in eighth position and earning the coveted ‘Cleaner Than European Norms’ designation the last time it featured on the table at the end of 2016.
However, judges were this time around less than impressed with what they found in and around the River Blackwater in Fermoy during their inspection.
While their report praised the overall aethetics of the river, it did point out that the prevalence of litter was a serious concern.
“A lovely riverside environment and most of the walkway was quite good with regard to litter. Overall, the area was very well presented and maintained,” read the report.
“However, there was some litter in the river, on the banks and scattered about – mostly food and beverage related litter, with cigarette butts and plastic bottles the most prevalent type,” it added.
The chair of Fermoy Tidy Towns, Cllr Noel McCarthy, said he was disappointed with the report, saying he felt that it brought down the overall standing of the town.
“The findings were disappointing, particularly in light of the fact that Tidy Towns and volunteers from the rowing club have been putting in a huge amount of work over recent weeks to clean up litter in the river and its surroundings,” said Cllr McCarthy.
“Were it not for their efforts the report could well have been a lot worse,” he added.
Cllr McCarthy said that it was now down to groups within the town to put in place strategies to ensure the river and its environs are properly maintained and litter free.
“One example of this is along Barnane Walk, which has been very busy this year due to the good weather. Unfortunately, many people did not tidy up after themselves and at times the walk was in a disgraceful condition. That is something that needs to be tackled by a combination of people cleaning up after themselves and increased monitoring of the walk,” he said.
“There is also a case for additional riverside bins and perhaps even a weekly river patrol along the river to clean up rubbish and act as a visible deterrent to people leaving litter behind. I will be raising the issue at county council level seeking funding to help put measures such as these in place,” he added.
Of all the Cork areas included within the survey only Kinsale Harbour received a ‘Clean To European Norms’ designation, with Ballycotton and Cork Harbour in Crosshaven also ‘moderately littered’.
Bantry was labelled ‘ heavily littered’, with areas of Cork Harbour in Midleton and at Blackrock Castle described as being ‘ litter blackspots’.
Conor Healy of IBAL said the most common forms of litter found during the survey were cigarette butts, sweet wrappers, plastic bottles and cans.
“Sadly, accumulations of litter in and around our waterways are a common sight in Ireland and this has been borne out by these disappointing results.”