Consumers urged to 'break up with plastic'

Litter washed up on a beach in County Cork, Ireland.  The most common items found on the Irish Coast were plastic food wrappers, cigarette butts and plastic beverage bottles.

A major shift is needed to end Ireland's unenviable record as the biggest plastic waste producer in the EU, as well as incorrect flushing which is causing thousands of water blockages every month across the country.

That is according to the Clean Coasts campaign and utility firm Irish Water, which jointly called for Irish people to make a concerted effort starting this month to reduce its reliance on plastics, and the discarding of inappropriate items down the toilet.