Israel’s beaches got much dirtier over the summer

Tel Aviv [Israel], September 14 (ANI/TPS): Israel’s Ministry of Environment reported that the summer vacation period brought with it a decrease in the level of cleanliness on Israel’s open beaches. Only 71.2 per cent of the open beaches in Israel were rated clean or very clean in the Environmental Protection Ministry’s clean beach index for the second half of August.
This represented a decrease compared to a rate of about 90 per cent clean beaches at the beginning of August and the previous year. The cleanliness of the beaches is the responsibility of the coastal authorities. The cleanest coastal authority with an average score of very clean is Bat Yam.
The year 2023 is the 18th year of the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s Clean Coast Program. Its purpose is to minimize the danger of coastal and marine waste in Israel and to act to clean the beaches and the sea according to an international commitment, for the benefit of the environment and the public in Israel.
Deputy Director of the National Unit for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Fred Erzuan, said: “The significant decrease in the level of cleanliness of the open beaches shows that there is much room for improvement, and that the cleaning efforts will always be lacking in the face of the continued introduction of significant amounts of single-use plastic to the beaches. Before the holidays, we remind Reach the beach only with disposable utensils and take back with us everything we brought to the sea.” (ANI/TPS)