River Shannon in Limerick is 'littered', says Ibal

IRISH Business Against Litter (Ibal) has branded the River Shannon at the University of Limerick and in Foynes as being “moderately littered”.

In a major nationwide survey carried out by the business group, Ibal suggests almost 40% of Ireland’s rivers, beaches and harbours are experiencing litter problems.

A study of beaches, harbours, rivers and their immediate environs, carried out by An Taisce, showed only four 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.

The group studied the Shannon as it flowed through the University of Limerick (UL) and Foynes.

The An Taisce report for UL stated: “The poor litter ranking was due to two separate areas of litter accumulations - at the bathing area and on the opposite side of the river next to the bridge. The most prevalent land-based litter types were food wrappers, sweet papers, plastic bottles and cigarette butts.  Apart from these areas there were traces of litter in most areas.”

The report for the River Shannon at Foynes added: “Litter in the car park area next to the port brought down what was otherwise a good site. There was some food and beverage related litter and occasional items of marine litter. The water area was good with regard to litter.” 

Conor Horgan, of Ibal, which has been publishing litter surveys since 2002, said: “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.

The River Shannon on its stretch through Carrick-on-Shannon and Lanesboro in Co Longford were ‘Clean to European Norms’, as were Kinsale Harbour and Salthill.