‘Clean’ Letterkenny claims Top Ten spot as national litter levels fall in 2022

Letterkenny is among the cleanest towns in the country according to the final litter survey of 2022 by the business group Irish Business Against Litter.

It is in 6th spot in the ranking of 40 towns and cities nationwide.

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.

Set up in 1996, Irish Business Against Litter is an alliance of companies sharing a belief that continued economic prosperity - notably in the areas of tourism, food and direct foreign investment - is contingent on a clean, litter-free environment.

As part of the IBAL Anti-Litter League, An Taisce monitors towns independently and in accordance with international grading standards.

An Taisce conducts the surveys on behalf of IBAL. Its report for Letterkenny stated:

"A very strong performance by Letterkenny with six out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade and no heavily littered sites. Top ranking sites included Central Library, Upper Main Street and Ballymacool Park – what sets these and others apart is not just the lack of litter but the overall presentation and maintenance of same. Ballymacool Park deserves a special mention as it covers an extensive area and it was completely spotless throughout."

Cleanliness levels nationwide improved by 6% in 2022, with Naas pipping Kilkenny and Maynooth in the rankings. For the third year in succession, Waterford was the cleanest city, ahead of Galway. Urban areas improved by 12%, yet they continue to occupy the lower positions in the IBAL rankings.

For An Taisce reports of individual areas see www.ibal.ie/anti-litter-league

“The results reflect a pattern of improvement since the peak of the Covid pandemic, when litter levels soared, especially in cities,” said IBAL’s Conor Horgan.

“In particular we are seeing local authorities concentrate their efforts on ridding areas of heavily littered sites. We have no reason to believe this improvement will not be sustained. Cleanliness is a virtuous circle: clean streets beget clean streets, inspiring pride and consciousness of the environment among people.”

A 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 Mr 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," added Mr Horgan.