Bins not the answer as weekend visitors continue to leave rubbish at Mullaghmore beach

AFTER one of the best weekends in terms of weather one Sligo beach was left heavily littered on Monday much to the annoyance of many, some of whom posted various pictures on social media showing the litter left by visitors to the popular village.

In common with beaches across Sligo and the country generally, thousands of people flocked to the cooling waters at Mullaghmore and the presence of so many was very welcome, but the failure of some visitors to bring their litter home with them has left a sour taste.

In the aftermath of the littering many questioned the absence of litter bins in the village, but it has since emerged that bins can add to the problem as they often end up overflowing or used by members of the public on an ongoing basis in good and bad weather to get rid of their household rubbish.

“The people who clean up Mullaghmore don’t want the bins because they become a magnet for litter.

“Birds also know where these bins are and it’s not uncommon to see large numbers of birds ripping through rubbish left in or near the bins which is a very messy situation,” local councillor Donal Gilroy said this week.

“Bins are not the answer, it’s counterproductive to have bins at a beach,” he said.

“More bins will mean more rubbish, there are people who will abuse the situation no matter what you do, but in general most people are great, and it was great to see so many people in Mullaghmore and elsewhere in Sligo. Litter is just one of those things you have to live with,” he said.

He pointed out that local CE scheme workers and Sligo County Council staff had been in Mullaghmore on numerous occasions lifting the litter and it wasn’t a case that the rubbish was allowed to gather for days, far from it, he said. He added that sadly, short of placing a skip on the green in Mullaghmore the problem is that people simply will not take responsibility for their own rubbish, he said.

“We all know the right thing to do, and we should all do that, that’s where it starts. Bring your rubbish with you, that is the solution,” he added

He praised members of the local tidy towns committee who do great work lifting litter all year round and volunteers who do this work in Mullaghmore and at Streedagh “They are lifting litter here all the time, it’s much more than an annual clean up where you see some photos on social media, their work is ongoing and they do it as volunteers,” he said.

Cllr Gilroy said the real issue was the simple fact that many people will not bring their litter home afer a day at the beach.

LEFT: Rubbish left behind in Mullaghmore over the weekend.