The latest survey by Irish Business Against Litter shows Castlebar in 11th spot in the ranking of 40 towns and cities and deemed Cleaner than European Norms.
The study reveals PPE litter is on the decrease, but the prevalence of coffee cups on streets warrants action such as a levy, says IBAL. 2022 marks the 20th year of the IBAL litter surveys.
The An Taisce report for Castlebar stated: "An excellent result for Castlebar on its return to the League with half of the sites surveyed getting the top litter grade, four just missing it and no seriously littered sites.
"Top ranking sites included Mayo Peace Park Garden of Remembrance, Castlebar Train Station and the residential area of Lakeshore Drive.
"With a little extra effort, others could easily get the top litter grade eg Ellison Street, Lough Lannagh and the Bring Facility at Tesco / Dunnes Stores."
Two-thirds of the 40 towns and cities surveyed were found to be clean, among them Naas, which retained its position at the top of the rankings, ahead of Letterkenny and Cavan.
Overall litter levels showed a decrease on last year, with a dramatic fall of 50% in the number of sites within towns deemed to be ‘litter blackspots’.
Disadvantaged urban areas cleaning up
"We’ve been calling on local authorities to prioritise the very bad sites in a town or area and it seems this call has been heeded," commented IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan. "We see the benefits especially in urban areas, where very heavy littering and dumping was at its worst. It’s early days, but there are signs that the disadvantaged areas we have focussed on are finally coming good, albeit from a low base."
Fall in Covid-related litter, but coffee cup litter remains high
The prevalence of PPE masks fell sharply compared to the previous survey, present in 17% of sites examined, compared to 32% in 2021. There was also a fall-off in alcohol-related litter, which contributed to an improvement in the state of public parks, 80% of which were deemed clean. Recycle centres were also cleaner. However, coffee cup litter remained high, evident in one quarter of all sites surveyed.
"The findings bear out the need for action on coffee cups," contended Mr Horgan. "We must disincentivise the use of paper cups – even compostable or recyclable ones – as too many of them are ending up on the ground. In the light of our survey, the Government move towards a levy makes a lot of sense."
The survey suggests that Ireland is seeing a return to normality post-Covid. "With cleaning schedules back to normal, less PPE litter and less alcohol consumption outdoors, litter levels have fallen. However, despite improvements, the centres of our main cities are still littered at a time when we are welcoming our peak tourist numbers. There is a price to be paid for that," commented Mr Horgan.
