This is the first time since IBAL’s survey began 20 years ago that the number of areas in the country that are considered severely littered has dropped to zero.
Maynooth, Co. Kildare has been named the cleanest town in a ranking of 40 towns and cities, ahead of Mallow and Sligo Town, Co. Cork.
Anne Taiss, who carries out the IBAL survey, said Maynooth had achieved “levels of cleanliness throughout 2023 not experienced in 20 years of the survey”.
Maynooth University was described as “clean” and the main street achieved “an excellent result for a busy shopping environment”.
Waterford has been named the cleanest city, beating out Galway, which is the only city to be considered ‘clean’. Cork city center has improved to the point where it has been named ‘moderately littered’, while Dublin and Limerick are deemed to be ‘littered’.
Dublin’s north inner city was ranked last overall, but since last year its condition has improved to “littered with trash”.
IBAL’s Conor Hogan said the results in Dublin and Limerick were “disappointing”.
“Despite the many challenges facing our capital, clean streets are a critical starting point on the road to recovery,” he said.
“But there’s also good news for our city. For years, our worst-performing areas were considered either littered spots or severely littered. .
“This standard seems to be changing, with littering at the bottom. Cleanliness begets cleanliness, and there is reason to hope that improvements will continue into the future.”
Mr Hogan said the rise in coffee cup litter was concerning, with coffee cups found in more than 30% of the 500 establishments surveyed, a figure at peak levels seen during the pandemic. He said it was close.
He said a tax on coffee cups was needed to tackle the problem.
“Regardless of how recyclable or compostable takeout cups are, these statistics show that too many are being thrown away on our streets,” he says.
The introduction of a deposit return scheme next month has been hailed as a “game changer” by IBAL. Under this system, consumers are charged a deposit of 15 cents for cans and up to 25 cents for plastic bottles, which is refunded upon return.
“This latest research shows that these items are present in just under half of the hundreds of sites we surveyed. This plan will remove the majority of this trash and will be completed by 2024. will provide a significantly cleaner environment,” Hogan said.
“Although there may be some inconvenience for consumers, this award is very real and readily available.”
The number of disposable e-cigarettes found in the investigation has also increased, with the products found on more than 10% of the sites covered.