The last three weeks have brought tens of thousands of people to beaches, parks and open spaces and there has been an increase in littering.
In Belfast council litter wardens have issued 88 on-the-spot fines since the start of July – an average four £80 fines a day.
And while the extra footfall is welcome, the abandoned litter is not. A Belfast council spokeswoman said: “The current spell of good weather has meant increased footfall in the city centre and in our parks, and we would appeal to everyone to dispose of litter in the bins provided.”
At Shaw’s Bridge in south Belfast walkers and cyclists are encouraged to be proactive when it comes to litter. Stickers on bins urge them to tweet images of a full bin with the message #Shawsbridgebinfull.
Queen’s University Belfast’s writer-in-residence Malachi O’Doherty has also highlighted the waste problem by posting images of dumped beer bottles and other litter at Ballycastle beach up on Facebook. “There is a major clean-up on this morning in Ballycastle, so the council is clearly conscious of the problem,” he said yesterday.
“You can kind of understand people putting stuff in a packed bin and maybe seagulls pulling it out, but dumping beer bottles on the beach is just loutish.
“I photographed it because it annoys me. I put it up on Facebook and there was a big reaction, so it’s clearly an issue people are exercised about. It’s outrageous to drop beer bottles in the sand.”