"Clean beach" index - Carmel Castle with a score of "very clean" and what is the condition of Haifa's beaches?

(lives here on the beaches) - Just before Passover - the 2023 bathing season opens with a positive sign: according to the Clean Beach Index data of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, 84.8% of the open beaches in Israel are rated as very clean or clean, compared to 67.7% in the corresponding period last year.

Minister of Environmental Protection, Idit Silman:

"The bathing season is opening, and we will all return to spending time on the beautiful beaches of our country. The ministry's clean beach index, conducted before the opening of the bathing season, indicates an improvement in the cleanliness of the beaches compared to last year. In order for us to continue the positive trend and enjoy beautiful and clean beaches, we must all avoid bringing plastic disposable, and make sure to keep the beaches and nature clean of waste. Have a nice time and happy holidays!"

Opening of the bathing season

In preparation for the opening of the bathing season which will officially begin tomorrow (Wednesday 29/3/23), the Ministry of Environmental Protection publishes the data of the "Clean Beach" index.

The data shows that in the first index for the month of March, 84.85% of the open beaches (not declared for swimming) measured in the index, were rated as "clean" to "very clean", compared to 83.3% in the previous index and 67.7% in the index in the same period a year ago. The index is performed every two weeks.

Carmel Castle - "very clean"

The cleanest coastal municipalities (having a score of "very clean") are: Nahariya, Acre, Tirat Carmel, Meta Asher, Emek Hefer, Netanya, Hoof Hasharon, Herzliya, Beti Yam, Gan Reva, Ashdod and Eilat. The coastal authorities at the bottom of the index, with a "medium" score, are Tel Aviv and the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council.
The cleanliness of the beaches is the responsibility of the coastal authorities.

"Clean Beach" - the 18th year

The year 2023 is the 18th year of the Clean Beach Program. The purpose of the "Clean Beach" program of the Ministry of Environmental Protection is to minimize the danger of coastal and marine waste in Israel and to act to clean the beaches and the sea in accordance with the international commitment, for the benefit of the environment and the public in Israel.

"Clean Beach" - Ministry of Environmental Protection

Support for coastal authorities

A central component of the clean beach program, as well as the bulk of its budget, is directed to support the coastal authorities for the cleaning of the open beaches in their territories. The clean beach program defines clear result targets for the cleaning of the open beaches, according to which 85% of the beaches will be clean 70% of the year, with the aim of addressing the environmental problem of marine waste in Israel.

In this framework, the inspectors of the national unit for the protection of the marine environment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection carry out a measurement of the level of cleanliness on the open beaches while regularly notifying the coastal authorities for monitoring and corrective actions to constantly improve the cleanliness of the beaches.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection will continue to invest in and support the coastal local authorities in their area of ​​undeclared bathing beaches, for carrying out cleaning operations on undeclared bathing beaches and reducing the source of marine waste by encouraging the public to use reusable utensils and stopping the use of single-use plastic utensils. Also, the ministry will run a program to strengthen enforcement of the cleaning bylaws, with the help of Israel Police officers from many stations throughout the country during the summer months.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection is supporting in the years 2021 to 2024 an unprecedented multi-year budget for the local authorities in their area of ​​undeclared beaches, in the amount of up to NIS 26,463,253 for cleaning operations on undeclared beaches for bathing, as well as a budget of up to NIS 6 million for reducing the source of marine waste by establishing Infrastructures for collecting waste on undeclared beaches, collection facilities to prevent waste from reaching the beaches from surface runoff, supervision of the law prohibiting the use of single-use plastics on beaches, for the establishment of infrastructure facilities or equipment to encourage the use of reusable utensils.

The support for the coastal authorities in source reduction promotes a commitment to promote a municipal by-law, which will prohibit the use of single-use plastic utensils on all of the PA's beaches (both declared and undeclared), as is already the case in Eilat, Ashkelon Beach, Herzliya, Tel Aviv, Hadera and Carmel Beach.

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. Happy holiday!