With the 2011 Anti Litter League being launched yesterday Galway city and Tuam will be looking to retain their litter free status and, according to the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL ), one way this task can be made much easier is by introducing the “Adopt a Road” scheme to the county.
IBAL is calling on the Government to introduce the national “Adopt a Road” scheme, whereby companies can sponsor the national road network, financing the cleaning of stretches of road in return for getting their name on road signage. Speaking at the announcement of its 2011 Anti Litter League in Dublin yesterday, IBAL chairman Dr Tom Cavanagh said such a scheme may be necessary to ensure the country is kept clean at a time when public expenditure is ever tighter.
The 2011 programme, which was launched by Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, will see Galway city and Tuam look to retain their litter free status. The 10 years of the IBAL Litter League have seen cleanliness levels improve greatly throughout the country, with more than 70 per cent of towns deemed ‘litter free’ compared to just two towns back in 2002. However studies show that approach roads and key routes outside towns are most likely to be littered.
“Regular cleaning schedules, like they have in other countries, are what’s really needed for these routes, but we should also look at supplementary ideas, not least given the squeeze on the public purse and the lack of resources in county councils. ‘Adopt A Highway’ schemes have proven successful in other countries and should be introduced here. We want to see the Government spearhead this scheme on a national basis, to include County Galway,” says Dr Cavanagh.
IBAL is calling for the Minister to grant favourable tax treatment to new degradable chewing gums to support their introduction on the market here. “Local authorities have told us they favour this move as a means of ridding our streets of conventional chewing gum, the removal of which costs the State millions each year … if it happens at all,” explains Dr Cavanagh. “The previous environment minister failed to stand up to the gum manufacturers on this, and we look to Minister Hogan to show greater resolve in confronting an issue which continues to dog our environment.”
The first results of the 2011 IBAL Anti Litter League are due to be published in the summer. IBAL is now inviting people in Galway to submit photos by mobile phone of litter blackspots in their neighbourhood as part of a “litter twitter” campaign to alert local authorities to litter-ridden areas locally. Photos can be emailed to [email protected] and can be followed at twitter.com /litterspotter.
