Councillor Patrick Clarke said: “It is disappointing that many of Northern Ireland’s beaches were named among the most littered in the UK last year, with more than 8,224 pieces of litter found per km of sand.
“In Northern Ireland there has been a significant rise in the amount of cigarette stubs on beaches, as well as plastic drinks bottles, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, ice cream wrappers as well as personal litter.
“People need to take personal responsibility for how they dispose of rubbish when visiting beaches across Northern Ireland as it is clearly evident from the report by the Marine Conservation Society that people are still littering our beaches.
“There now needs to be a concerted effort and responsibility by the general public to respect their beaches.”