Disappointment as Dundalk ranked 39th out of 40 in latest IBAL litter survey

There was another disappointing result for Dundalk in the final litter survey of 2023 by business group Irish Business Against Litter(IBAL), with the town ranking 39th out of 40 towns and cities surveyed, and being deemed “littered”, according to results released today.

Dundalk's performance was described as “another poor result for a former winner of the IBAL league, with a number of heavily littered sites”, with IBAL asking “why has Dundalk declined so much?”, adding that there was “a number of heavily littered sites” in the town.

The survey found that there was a lot of dumping of alcohol related litter and vaping devices. The lowest ranking site in Dundalk, was the Recycle Centre on Castletown Road, which received a Grade D.

In its appraisal, the report said that "this was by far the most heavily littered site surveyed in Dundalk, worse than previous IBAL surveys. While the immediate area around the three clothing units was lightly littered, it was the area behind it which presented very poorly – a mountain of clothing had been discarded, along with some cans and bottles." 

While Dundalk performed disappointingly in the latest survey, a number of areas in the town were described as “top-ranking sites”, however, including Dundalk Train Station, Red Barns approach road and ‘The Clump’ Park / Playground, with IBAL describing them as “all very much deserving the top litter grade”.

As well as receiving a Grade A, the report said of Dundalk Train Station: "this ‘olde’ style station presents very well with visitor information notice board, lovely wooden seating and all features in very good order.

"The car park surface was particularly fresh, creating a very positive first impression of the station. This was sustained throughout the station. Not only was it very well presented but it was also excellent with regards to litter."

Established in 1996 by businessman Dr Tom Cavanagh, IBAL 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”. In addition, IBAL believes all citizens have the right to a clean living environment.

Since 2002, Irish Business Against Litter has commissioned An Taisce to carry out litter surveys of our main towns and cities according to international standards. The towns and cities are then ranked in a league table format.