Carlow classed 'clean' in litter league despite low ranking

Carlow has been deemed clean to European norms, and ranked 25th in the country out of 40 locations. 

The amount of towns and cities deemed clean across the country has risen by around 25 per cent, according to the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey results. 

The final litter survey of 2022 by business group IBAL has shown a significant rise in the numbers of areas deemed clean across Ireland.

Three quarters of the 40 cities and towns surveyed were clean, compared to just over half this time last year. While Naas was again top of the rankings, city areas showed greatest improvement, notably Dublin City.

IBAL says the prevalence of plastic bottles and cans in the study strengthens the case for the impending Deposit Return Scheme.     

People Before Profit councillor Adrienne Wallace said overall this IBAL report is a great result for Carlow who regained a “clean” status.

“Our Council workers and community clean up groups like Clean Carlow and Tidy Towns deserve a lot of recognition for their work in helping Carlow regain a ‘Clean’ status. The IBAL report noted significantly improved sites, which had previously brought down the overall town ranking like the Potato Market, Liberty Tree and Askea Bottle Bank. Carlow Council should continue to support this work by hiring more outdoor workers as there is a gap in labour that needs to be addressed,” Cllr Wallace said.

“It was also great to see improvement in the car park at Penny Lane and Home Savers and these businesses deserve recognition for this. However, the car park at Mr. Price has seen no great improvement over a long number of years. I have consistently raised this at a local level and the council has already engaged with the business on multiple occasions. The council must now seriously consider taking legal action against any premises that is hosting heavily littered sites.  If this was an individual caught fly-tipping or littering then the council would not hesitate to initiate formal action, no business should be above the law. It is an eye-sore and could very well negatively affect small and medium businesses in the area that are trying to attract new customers.

She concluded “When the IBAL first started 20 years ago Carlow was first place. It is time for Carlow Council to get tougher on litter-lout businesses so that Carlow can regain that title.”

Cleanliness levels nationwide improved by 6% in 2022, with Naas pipping Kilkenny and Maynooth in the rankings.

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 paying 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,” commented Conor Horgan of IBAL. 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,” Mr Horgan said.