"Disposable, not in my sea!" • A decrease in the level of cleanliness of the beaches and increased enforcement on the beaches of Haifa and the surrounding area

Only 66.7% of the measured beaches were rated as clean to very clean - which is a decrease compared to last month's index | "Clean Beach" index for open beaches in Israel for the first half of July - Ministry of Environmental Protection

As every year in the month of July, during the period when the children and youth are on vacation from school, there is a decrease in the cleanliness of the beaches. According to the data of the Ministry of Environmental Protection's "Clean Beach" index, 66.7% of the measured open beaches were rated as "clean" to "very clean" - this is compared to 69% in the previous index, which indicates a spitting trend in beach cleanliness.

Reinforcement of the inspection force on the beaches of Haifa and the surrounding area

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, who accompany the inspectors on behalf of the Coastal Authority in the inspection and enforcement operations, with the aim of creating a deterrent against waste criminals on the beaches and reducing the damage to the coastal and marine environment.

Among the 18 authorities that receive more than 7,000 policing hours this bathing season are: The Carmel Coast Regional Council, Haifa Municipality, Tirat Carmel Municipality, Acre Municipality and Kiryat Yam Municipality.

The scope of the project's financing was doubled this year to one million shekels, as part of the Ministry of Environmental Protection's clean beach program. As part of the enforcement activity, people who throw garbage on the beach may be fined up to NIS 750. So far, as part of the program to strengthen enforcement, they have been carried out 50 actions, for about418 hours Cumulative and with the help of 148 police officers. during which approximately600 fines, and of them 149 fines for cleaning offences.

Cleaning the beaches

In 2020-2021, the Ministry of Environmental Protection is supporting the coastal authorities in their area of ​​undeclared bathing beaches to the extent of approximately NIS 9.5 million. This budget is used by the authorities to carry out cleaning operations on open sea beaches that are not declared for bathing within their area.

The ministry provided this support for the first time 2 million shekels To support the coastal authorities to reduce the danger of plastic waste on the beaches before it reaches the beach and the sea. The same support enables the establishment of infrastructures for garbage collection on undeclared beaches, waste collection facilities, drainage of surface runoff and infrastructure facilities to encourage the use of reusable tools. This support is conditional on the authority's commitment to promote a municipal by-law against the use of disposable utensils on the beaches and the payment is conditional on the approval protocol of the law by the authority's council or plenum.

Disposable, not in my sea!

Rani Amir, head of the marine environment protection unit, Message to Lahi Fa - The News Corporation:

The Ministry of Environmental Protection's clean beach program continues to work to reduce waste on the beaches, including by supporting cleaning and strengthening enforcement. The public must understand the scope of the problem and not reach the beaches with disposable plastic and leave behind a clean beach. One time not in my sea!

What is the clean beach program?

The program has been operating for 15 years, and its goal is to minimize the amount of coastal waste in Israel and to work to clean the beaches and the sea, in relation to a clear environmental result index - all in accordance with the international commitment, for the benefit of the environment and the public in Israel.

A central component of the clean beach program, as well as the bulk of its budget, is directed to support the coastal authorities in cleaning the open beaches in their territories.

In order to address the environmental problem of marine waste in Israel, the clean beach program defines clear result targets for the cleaning of the open beaches: 70% of the beaches are clean 70% of the year.

In this framework, the inspectors of the national unit for the protection of the marine environment measure the level of cleanliness on the open beaches while regularly notifying the coastal authorities for monitoring and corrective actions to continuously improve the cleanliness of the beaches. The results of the Clean Beach Index are shared with the general public twice a month throughout the year as a complementary step to raise the general public's awareness of the phenomenon of marine litter and public transparency.