Cork and Limerick city centres among country's most littered areas

Discarded PPE, such as facemasks, is contributing to a steep rise in litter levels in many towns and cities across the country. File picture: Domnick Walsh

Litter is blighting cities to a level not seen in a decade, but the country's towns are seeing a general improvement, with Portlaoise now the cleanest.

The first post-lockdown survey by Ibal (Irish Businesses Against Litter) identified Dublin's north inner city as the worst, deeming it a “litter blackspot”, although Tallaght and Ballymun registered “significant year-on-year improvement”. 

Cork and Limerick city centres were also criticised for their levels of litter. In Cork, the Ibal report identified blackspots at Commons Road, Lower John Street, and St Patrick’s Quay. 

The city's northside has failed to improve on past surveys, with some deterioration noted at Old Mallow Road and Popham’s Road. 

Many of the poorer ranking sites weren’t just casually littered but dumping had taken place there, including at Red Forge Road, Old Mallow Road, Dublin Hill, Sunvalley Drive, and, particularly at Ballyvolane Road and Churchfield Avenue.

While Galway city registered an improvement on previous surveys, parts of Limerick were said to be poor such as Mount Kennett Place, the car parking area at Radio House, and adjacent apartments on Dock Road and Henry Street. 

However, the judges said riverside areas such as Clancy Strand, George’s Quay, and Honan’s Quay were “exceptionally well presented”. 

In many city and town centres discarded PPE, such as facemasks, was noted as a big problem.

The study showed a near 30% increase in the prevalence of facemasks on our streets and an increase in alcohol-related litter such as cans and bottles. However, there was a 20% drop in coffee cup litter and also “a steep fall-off” in cigarette butts.

Cleanliness on the rise

The number of areas deemed clean by An Taisce, who carried out the survey on behalf of Ibal, rose from 17 to 23. In all, 68% of towns showed an improvement on last year. 

Portlaoise, which was at the very foot of the table back in 2010, topped the rankings, an achievement praised by An Taisce as the result of “years of concerted effort and steady improvement"; it finished ahead of Leixlip and past winner, Ennis. 

Notable improvement was seen in Tipperary Town and in Carlow and Longford, which were both "cleaner than European norms". 

“With local authority cleaning schedules normalising again and volunteer groups re-engaged in clean-ups across the country, our towns are almost as clean as two years ago,” Ibal’s Conor Horgan said.

This is still some way short of where they were in 2014.

All but one of the bottom 10 places in the rankings were urban areas.

“For cities, this survey paints a bleak picture. Litter levels have worsened to a level we have not seen in the past ten years.

"Now that we have emerged from lockdown, we cannot use it as an excuse for high levels of litter,” Mr Horgan added.

"As we invest in promotional drives and build city hotels in anticipation of more visitors, we need to be mindful of the littered environment we are presenting to them.”

Ibal was once again critical of the failure of local authorities to address sites that they have previously highlighted as heavily littered, especially in urban areas. 

Of the 103 such sites highlighted in 2020, fewer than half have been cleaned up this year.