The deputy director of the national unit for the protection of the marine environment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Fred Erzuan: “We are witnessing an increase in the level of cleanliness of the beaches throughout the last summer, and the positive change has become a stable trend. The recently measured record is the result of the ministry’s clean beach program, which aims to maintain the cleanliness of the sea and beaches, while cooperating with the local authorities, environmental associations and the general public. Even in winter, we call on the public to refrain from using single-use plastic utensils and to keep our beaches clean, and in general to maintain cleanliness and not throw waste in the public space, which reaches the sea through the drainage due to the rains.”
From the Clean Beach Index data of the Ministry of Environmental Protection for the second half of October, it appears that 95.5% of the measured beaches were rated clean to very clean, compared to 94% in the previous index. This is the cleanest index since the beginning of the program and measurements in 2005. In the corresponding period last year, 86% of the beaches were found to be clean to very clean. The percentage of clean beaches 70% of the time, from the beginning of 2022, stands at 80.3%.
The cleanest coastal authorities (with a very clean score) are: Acre, Tirat Carmel, Hadera, Emek Hefer, Netanya, Herzliya, Hoof Hasharon, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Gan Reva, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Eilat. In this index, no coastal authority was rated medium, dirty or very dirty.
As part of the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s Clean Coast Program, the National Unit for the Protection of the Marine Environment initiates assistance to the coastal authorities in carrying out enforcement actions on the beaches during the summer months. The assistance is provided through the reinforcement of the inspection force by the Israel Police officers accompanying the inspectors from the Coastal Authority in the inspection and enforcement operations, in order to create a deterrent against waste criminals on the beaches and to reduce the damage to the coastal and marine environment.
The 18 winning municipalities in the current bathing season for the reinforcement of more than 7,000 hours of policing are Netanya, Herzliya, Hoof HaCarmel Regional Council, Emek Hefer Regional Council, Ashkelon, Meta Asher Regional Council, Kiryat Yam, Kinneret Cities Association, Ashdod, Nahariya, Tirat Carmel, Municipality of Acre, Haifa, Tel-Aviv Jaffa, Hoof Hasharon Regional Council, Bat Yam, Hadera and Eilat.
The scope of the project’s funding was already doubled last year to one million shekels as part of the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s clean beach program. As part of the enforcement activity, those littering the beach may be fined up to NIS 750 for dumping waste due to the high sensitivity of the beaches.
As part of the enforcement reinforcement plan (on June 25 to October 31, 2022), 411 inspection and enforcement actions were reported in the domain of the coastal authorities (including the Association of Kinneret Cities). During these operations, about 7,355 fines were handed out, of which about 1,217 fines were for cleaning violations.
expansion:
The budget for the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s clean beach program for 2022 is NIS 16 million. The year 2022 is the 17th year of the Clean Beach Program of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which has been operating since 2005 with the aim of minimizing the danger of coastal and marine waste in Israel and working to clean the beaches and the sea according to the international commitment for the benefit of the environment and the public in Israel.
A central component of the clean beach program and the bulk of its budget is directed to support the coastal authorities in cleaning the open beaches in their territories. The clean beach program defines clear result targets for the cleaning of the open beaches – so that 75% of the beaches will be clean 70% of the year in order to address the environmental problem of marine waste in Israel.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection recently published, in collaboration with the Nature and Parks Authority and the Sea and Lakes Research Society, a report indicating the alarming effect of plastic waste on sea turtles in the Eastern Mediterranean. The report found that plastic waste was found in the stomachs of 100% of the sea turtles tested. According to various estimates, 8 million tons of plastic are thrown into the sea every year in the world, and in Israel it was found that up to 90% of the marine waste is plastic which is almost non-biodegradable. This finding is higher than the global data and data in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection calls on the public to refrain from bringing plastic waste to the beaches, in order to keep our beaches clean. Disposable – not in my sea!