Cleaning up in Tipp
The latest nationwide survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter shows Clonmel among the cleanest towns in the country, in 4th spot in the ranking of 40 towns and cities. The great majority of Ireland’s towns were found to be clean, but two-thirds of city areas are still littered. The survey presents a snapshot of cleanliness levels across Ireland as the peak summer tourist season commences.
An Taisce, who carry out the surveys for IBAL, commented: “Clonmel has retained its customary high levels of cleanliness on its return to the League, with nine out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade. The only heavily littered site was the ‘Recycle Facility in Car Park by Greyhound Stadium’ – this wasn’t just casually littered but subject to dumping and has been highlighted in previous IBAL surveys. A wonderful new addition to Clonmel is the outdoor space, Kickham Barracks Plaza – it was exceptionally freshly presented with lovely paving and features throughout. Clearly a careful eye is kept on the closed down / boarded up properties (of which there were plenty) at Market Place, as there was no litter directly associated with them.”
Over 90% of towns surveyed were deemed clean, compared with just 28% of city areas. Maynooth won out ahead of Mallow, Kilkenny, Clonmel and Ennis. Dundalk, ‘seriously littered’ at the very foot of the table, and ‘moderately littered’ Tralee, were the sole towns to miss out on clean status.
Waterford and Galway were once again our only clean cities. Cork City Centre, Mahon, Limerick City and Galvone have all made some progress, as has Ballymun. Dublin City Centre, however, has deteriorated from ‘moderately littered’ to ‘littered’.
“Clearly, tourism is a focus of this annual summer survey and unfortunately the major urban gateways to our towns and countryside – notably Dublin – are falling short of the mark, and creating an underwhelming first impression for visitors,“ according to Conor Horgan of IBAL. “As a high-cost destination, tourists to Ireland can expect better. It’s a fact, too, that the great work being done in our towns is negated by litter in our cities.”
VAPES ON THE RISE
The survey showed that PPE litter has not disappeared entirely, with masks found in 7% of sites. There was a slight drop in the prevalence of alcohol cans and bottles, but coffee cups were present in 20% of sites, which, IBAL maintains, backs up the need for a coffee cup levy. There was an increase in cigarette butt litter.
Vaping devices were included as a litter type for the first time and were evident in 6% of sites. “The impact of disposable vapes is twofold,” says Conor Horgan.” Not only are they single-use plastic, but the lithium battery within them is an especially toxic form of litter. Unfortunately, as is our experience with coffee cups, consumers tend to opt for the convenience of the disposable product. In striving for a circular economy, the case for banning them is a strong one.”