Ballina and Castlebar have been deemed litter free towns as they feature in the top 39 out of 60 towns and cities according to the Irish Business Against Litter 2009 survey which was released this week.
Castlebar which came 25th place on the list was just pipped by Ballina which came 24th.
Areas of Ballina which scored well include: the Attymass approach road; the Greenhills Shopping Centre; Church Manor; the N50 Sligo approach road and the Bonniconlon approach road.
The judges commented that Ballina Cathedral was a superb site and commended the spotless condition of the New Bridge.
O’Rahilly Street was described as being moderately littered, while Greenhills and the IDA Industrial Estate both had serious litter problems.
The areas in Castlebar which were described as littered were the Main Street, which “was not helped by the overflowing litter bins”. There was a scattering of litter on the N5 approach road (from N60 Roundabout to Moneen Roundabout ). The IDA Roundabout to N84 to N5 junction and the N5 Dublin approach road were both described as areas being moderately littered.
Areas praised for being litter free were the N60 Ballinrobe approach road; Ashwood; Fortfield; the IDA Industrial Estate; the Court House was described as being a “very clean and well presented site” and the Mall — “the overall presentation of this town centre site was excellent. However, care needs to be taken with such heavy leaf fall as it has resulted in very slippery footpath.”
The IBAL Anti Litter League is the largest litter survey conducted in Ireland, with all areas of more than 6,000 population covered over the year, ensuring that the total areas covered have an overall population of close to two million people. Sites are graded by An Taisce according to international standards. The overall winner of the cleanest town in Ireland was awarded to Bray.
