In first for Israel, southern resort town of Eilat bans disposables on beaches

Israel’s southernmost city bans disposable cups and bags from its beaches to protect the Red Sea from the “threat” of plastic, a spokeswoman says.

The amendment to Eilat’s municipal code makes the resort town Israel’s first to adopt such regulations.

Beachgoers will be forbidden from bringing disposable items onto the beach, whether made of plastic, aluminium, cardboard or paper.

Such items will not be sold at kiosks or restaurants by the shore.

The Gulf of Eilat. (Dr. Ilan Malster, Environmental Protection Ministry)

Whether cutlery, cups, bags, wrappings or drinking straws, “disposable items break down into particles of various sizes on land and in the sea, harming terrestrial and aquatic animals” and constituting an eyesore, the text accompanying the new bylaw says.

In the absence of national legislation on the issue, Israel’s beach resorts have taken the initiative, with the Mediterranean coastal city of Herzliya preparing similar regulations.

“Eilat has unique natural resources,” Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevy says in a statement. “We must safeguard them in every way.”

The bylaw, which exempts bottles, needs to be approved by the Interior Ministry before taking effect. The city proposes to fine offenders up to NIS 730 ($210).

Israel lags behind the European Union in phasing out the use of disposable plastic. Eilat’s ban is particularly important because of the coral reef that lies a short distance from the beach.

— AFP