Discarded PPE and coffee cups driving up litter levels across Ireland

Discarded PPE is contributing to a rising level of litter nationally, the report found. File Picture.

Litter levels are rising across the country with fewer than half of towns and cities now deemed ‘clean’ — the first time the rankings have been so low since 2007.

The results are contained in the second nationwide litter survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter (Ibal) since the Covid-19 pandemic began here.

It found that coffee cups and discarded PPE are among the items driving up litter levels, as well as a rise in glass bottles and cans.

According to Ibal, litter levels rose in 24 of the 37 towns and cities inspected by An Taisce at the end of 2020, resulting in only 17 being judged to be clean — a fall of over 25% on last summer. Just three years ago, 80% were deemed clean.

Ibal spokesperson Conor Horgan said while Covid-19 may have impacted on cleaning services around the country, the rise in littering was not entirely attributable to the pandemic.

“The decline in cleanliness is less a case of the poorer areas getting worse, but of previously clean towns slipping to littered," he said.

"Covid is clearly a factor here, but we should never accept litter as inevitable."

It comes down to people disposing of their waste without regard for their surroundings or their fellow citizens and it is entirely unnecessary.

"While council workers have not been on the streets as much as normal, the general public has been spending more time than ever out of doors,” Mr Horgan said, referring to a sharp rise in the amounts of litter on approach roads to towns, reflecting the numbers of people out walking.

“Ironically, too many of them are showing a shameful disregard for the environment they are enjoying.” 

He also said there was a growing reluctance to pick up litter and a continued rise in the number of blackspots in towns and cities, with Dry Dock in Dublin’s IFSC; Balbutcher Lane in Ballymun; St Patrick’s Park in Navan, and Ballybane Village in Galway namechecked as areas that were particularly impacted.

Of the 37 areas surveyed, Dublin North Inner City and Ballymun were deemed seriously littered, while five areas — including Mahon in Cork City and Limerick City South — were deemed to be littered.

Cork, Galway, and Limerick city centres were moderately littered, over a dozen areas were cleaner than European norms and Kilkenny, Killarney, Ennis, and Tullamore were the cleanest places in the country according to the survey.

Kilkenny came at the top of the 2020 Ibal table and An Taisce said: “There is surely a lesson in this result for other towns — while the majority of towns have deteriorated during Covid, Kilkenny has been maintained in pristine condition.” 

It said the town's High Street, as well as the River Nore Walk and the grounds of Kilkenny Castle were all “excellent with regard to not just litter, but overall presentation”.