Mullingar excels, as national litter levels fall in 2022
‘Clean’ Athlone loses top 10 spot in rankings
Prevalence of bottles and cans strengthens case for Deposit Return Scheme
The final litter survey of 2022 by business group Irish Business Against Litter shows Mullingar among the country’s cleanest towns, in ninth place in the ranking of 40 towns and cities nationwide.
Athlone, also clean in 16th, has lost its top 10 spot.
In all, three quarters of Ireland’s cities and towns were deemed ‘clean’ in 2022, compared to just over half in the previous year.
Naas was again top of the rankings.
An Taisce conducted the survey on behalf of IBAL.
Its report for Mullingar stated:
Another very strong result for Mullingar with eight out of the 10 sites surveyed getting the top litter grade and there were no seriously littered sites.
There was a notable improvement at the Canal Bank, which had previous been a seriously littered site – but, clearly a careful eye is required as it could quickly deteriorate to previous status.
The Bring Facility at Blackhall car park was moderately littered – the level was such that if not addressed this could slide to a seriously littered site.
Blackhall Car Park was very much deserving of the top litter grade, there was a complete absence of litter throughout.
The An Taisce report for Athlone stated:
Athlone recorded fewer grade A sites than last time round in what was nonetheless a strong performance.
Top-ranking sites included Arcadia Retail Park (an exceptionally clean and well-presented environment) and Athlone Civic Centre / Library (attractively presented with lovely paving, visitor information signage, bicycle parking, 1916 memorial etc.) and a couple of the approach routes. By far the most heavily littered site was Shannon Bank Nature Trail - (between Talbot Avenue and College Park): some parts were fine with regard to litter but there was evidence of burnt items and dumping. The Golden Island / Civic Amenity Recycle Centre was certainly better than in previous IBAL surveys.
Strong case for government schemes
Plastic bottle and cans continue to be a major source of litter, second only to sweet wrappers and present in one in three of the 500-plus sites surveyed.
IBAL believes the findings bolster the case for a deposit return scheme, which is due to be introduced this year, and which will see consumers pay a deposit which they can reclaim on returning their containers to a retailer or other collection point.
“Based on this data, the scheme is sorely needed and stands to rid our streets of a significant amount of litter. The same applies to the proposed coffee cup levy,” said Conor Horgan.
While there was a fall in the prevalence of coffee cups, they were still found in 25% of sites surveyed.
The survey showed cigarette butts remain a persistent form of litter. "We welcome the announcement that cigarette manufacturers will now be contributing to the cost of clean-up, but we really need to see preventative measures such as widespread butt disposal facilities alongside innovative packaging which can store butts," said Mr Horgan.
The mayor of Naas Municipal District, Cllr Evie Sammon, will be presented with the inaugural Dr Tom Cavanagh Memorial Trophy, in honour of IBAL’s founder and Chairman, who passed away in September, at noon today.
2022 marked the 20th anniversary of the IBAL Anti-Litter League.