The Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles is leading to lower litter across the country.
Today’s IBAL survey also shows Naas is the cleanest town in the country, ahead of Monaghan and Blanchardstown in Dublin with Kilkenny in fourth – all with those up to the 14th spot were deemed Cleaner Than European Norms.
The An Taisce report for Kilkenny stated; “Kilkenny has scored very well, as we have come to expect from the former IBAL multiple winner. It has consistently been a high-ranking town for many years. With so many top-ranking sites, some are worth mentioning. Kilkenny Train Station (Exterior and Interior) was an excellent environment and clearly one where the station staff are clearly very proud of their station. Parliament Street was an exceptionally freshly presented shopping street, with attractive paving and all elements in very good order. The Bring Facility at St Canice’s has often been littered in previous surveys – not so, this time around.”
Having risen two places, Carlow is now ranked 18th among nine areas listed as Clean to European Norms with the report noting; “A very strong result for Carlow with six top ranking sites, with two just shy of this category. Top ranking sites included the residential area of Castlewood Gardens, Potato Market (& Environs) and the Recycle Bring Centre at Carlow Bus Park – the latter was particularly freshly presented and maintained. The Industrial Estate was also top-ranking, a much improved site compared to previous surveys. The two heavily littered sites were the improvised layby on the R448 and Mr Price – the latter has regularly been poor, with only minimal improvement noted this time around.”
However, Dublin city centre has seen a further deterioration and has been declared “Littered”.
Irish Business Against Litter spokesperson Conor Horgan says it’s great to see fewer cans and plastic bottles being dumped, commenting; “This is the first survey we’ve conducted since the Government’s Deposit Return Scheme and the early indications are that it’s having a real impact, we’ve seen a 30% fall in the prevalence of cans on our streets and there’s also been a drop in the prevalence of plastic bottles so it’s a really good indicator that the scheme is working from a litter point of view”.
