Cork and Dublin still litter blackspots

IRELAND’S litter problem is easing but Cork and Dublin still have a serious rubbish problem, according to a new nationwide survey.

The latest annual Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey shows that Dublin and Cork are categorised as “littered”, even though there have been significant improvements in cleanliness levels in towns around the country.

Such has been the improvement elsewhere that Ireland is now in the top 12 in Europe when it comes to overall litter levels, according to IBAL chairman Tom Cavanagh.

However, the situation in Dublin, which finished in 50th place, and Cork — which finished second from bottom of the league — has actually deteriorated, with some parts of both cities coming in for particular criticism.

The top five litter-free areas of the country will be announced later today, but IBAL did reveal the names of the towns in contention: Carlow, Drogheda, Longford, Trim and Wexford.

In sixth place is Clonmel, followed by Ballincollig, which along with another 32 towns and cities including Youghal, Letterkenny, Limerick and Galway, are described as “clean to European norms”.

Other towns such as Cobh, Naas and Roscommon are described as “moderately littered”.

However, five places are described as littered: Mallow, Nenagh, Dublin, New Ross and Cork.

In last place, described as having a “serious litter problem” is Portlaoise.

In Cork, the Kinsale Road roundabout “gives a very bad impression to visitors” with litter dropped by motorists creating an eyesore.

The North Ring Road was described as “an awful site” thanks to dumping and broken fencing, while Victoria Cross and the derelict Crow’s Nest bar and other sites have become “a magnet for litter”.

In Dublin, St Mary’s Mansions was described as a “shockingly bad site”, while Gloucester Lane was “characterised by an air of neglect”. Blackhorse Avenue, St Augustine Street and Arran Quay Terrace were also criticised.

Overall, 39 of the 53 towns or cities surveyed were litter-free, a record, while no town was described as a litter blackspot.

Mr Cavanagh said more needed to be done to tackle problem areas, especially in Cork and Dublin, as the level of litter reflected badly on our reputation.

“In smaller towns you have more community involvement,” he said, “but in Cork and Dublin people feel this is the corporation’s job.”

He said local authorities needed to hold town hall meetings in problematic areas and attract local leaders to help draw up a cleaning schedule.

He said that IBAL would next year look at some parts of both cities not previously included in the survey, and also appealed for people to send in photos of littering as part of its “litter twitter” campaign. Mr Cavanagh said: “Unless Dublin and Cork are clean, Ireland can’t be clean.” An Taisce carried out the survey on behalf of IBAL.