Mountains reek from increase in human waste
Exceptional summer weather is drawing unprecedented numbers of walkers to the country’s highest peaks but the volume of human waste, in particular, and decomposing rubbish is leading to increasing concerns.
The lack of toilet facilities to cater for hundreds of walkers each day now on Kerry’s famed MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, and other popular climbs, will have to be addressed.
The warning came from Patricia Deane, spokesperson for a forum which protects and sustainably manages the mountain range.
Ms Deane, rural recreation officer with South Kerry Development Partnership, said excrement and litter such as tea bags on peaks such as Carrauntoohil are a major challenge.
“People going to the toilet on the mountain is a year-round issue and one of the big issues facing us, particularly on Carrauntoohil,” she said.
During the sunny peak summers from June, around 500 walkers each day were recorded at the three main access points and onto Strickeen near the Gap of Dunloe.
Over the years, one of the access routes, Cronin’s Yard, created facilities for public use at the entrance.
But the large volumes arriving, particularly this summer, has led to people to deposit their personal waste all over the mountains.
The basic principle of responsible mountaineers, Ms Deane said, is “leave no trace”.
She said a range of eco-friendly approaches are being examined and are likely to be on the table for Carrauntoohil which, though privately-owned, is a special area of conservation. The Reeks, she said, remains a place of work for the sheep farmers, and public insurance, along with the co-operation of the landowners, will be paramount, she said.
“We are working with landowners to protect their land.”
Digging, but well away from watercourses, dry composting and other eco-friendly solutions may be looked at on some of the highest and steepest peaks in the MacGillycuddys Reeks to relieve the lack of toilet facilities for the hundreds each day on the Reeks, Ms Deane said.
The Reeks Forum, meanwhile, is made up of landowners and community stakeholders.
Meantime, the eco-damage is not confined to hill land.
Fragile coastal dunes in the Maharees, Rossbeigh and Inch — all top beaches and designated areas of special conservation — are coming under pressure from rubbish deposits and the public trampling of rare ecosystems.
During July, shocked locals discovered stretches of human and other waste after campers in the fragile tombola that makes up one of the country’s longest sandy beaches — the rare ecosystem of the Maharees in Brandon Bay.
The Maharees Conservation Association, formed to protect the area from erosion, spent days cleaning up after 30 or so people in tents who camped near a bridge and used the sand for toilet facilities. Heaps of bottles and rubbish were also collected.
Visitors from two campsites assisted the conservation group with the cleanup.
Martha Farrell, secretary of the Maharees association, said locals welcomed visitors to the area but appealed to beach users: “If you are able to bring it to the beach, bring it home.”
The association, she said, also urged visitors to confine walks to established paths through the dunes as walking on marram grass, holding the dunes in place, caused huge damage.
She said visitors, where possible, should also camp in campsites, not the dunes.
“Extra toilet facilities were needed but this is not straightforward,” she said, “as the Maharees is an area of conservation, and the dunes are part of privately owned commonage.”
Meanwhile, local councillor Michael O’Shea called on the OPW and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Kerry County Council to police areas such as the Maharees to stop large groups threatening tourist gems.
Public toilet facilities, he said, were needed on the Blasket as well as Skellig Michael while car parks and traffic management were also essential needs around the Dingle peninsula.
Mr O’Shea said the county attracts more and more tourists but was “starved of facilities” like toilet and parking areas to cope with the increase tourist numbers.
