Sir, – Going for my early morning swim in Sandycove, Co Dublin, this morning, I picked my way past the detritus left by visitors from the day before. I find it upsetting to see such a naturally beautiful place made so ugly by a lack of respect for the natural environment and for their fellow humans coming to enjoy a swim. All kinds of things littered the area. Clothing, shoes, towels, bottles both glass and plastic, cans, food, bags either left in place or strewn across the area. Some of it already floating on an incoming tide.Is there a workable solution for this annual problem? There is no point in grandiose rhetoric giving out about these people. They are not going to clean up after themselves voluntarily. Like the people who bring their dogs to the bathing areas in contravention of council signage, they are likely to verbally abuse anyone who might suggest such a thing. The council managers seem unable to manage the situation any better each year. As the sun rises at around 5am in the summer, maybe the clean up could start earlier. Maybe the really heroic cleaning crews could be given more up-to-date equipment for the spillages from all sorts of containers. To the council managers, I would say: this is not your fault but it is your problem to solve. We have enough signs; please come up with a better plan. – Yours, etc,ANNE COVITZ,Glenageary,Co Dublin.Sir – I empathise with Catherine Harris (Letters, May 28th) at her dismay at the behaviour of day trippers littering Dún Laoghaire. At a beer festival in Heidelberg some years ago, I saw that the Saturday night streets were knee-deep in litter just like at home. However, the difference was that by early the following morning the streets were pristine once more. This was the work of the local council and not the responsibility of local volunteers.This week I saw a young waste collection worker throw a variety of soft material, such as make-up removal pads and such, out of the collection lorry on to the road as it moved away, leaving this bystander to don a pair of gloves and clear it up. – Yours, etc,MARION WALSH,Donnybrook,Dublin 4.