One 'heavily littered' site affects 'cleaned up' Portlaoise

The capital town in Laois has "cleaned up" to regain its status in the latest IBAL ratings.

Portlaoise has recovered its Clean status, with just one "heavily littered" site holding back the town from an even higher score.

The final litter survey of 2022 by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) shows Portlaoise has recovered to regain ’clean’ status in 20th position out of 40 towns and cities nationwide.

Last June the town crashed from 2nd to 26th position with two littered sites highlighted, one of which remains a problem.

The An Taisce report for Portlaoise noted the improved condition of the former Hepburn Court housing estate on the Ballyfin Road. The private development was bought up by Laois County Council to end dereliction and to build 54 new council homes.

"Portlaoise has cleaned up after a slight dip in mid-2022. Significant improvement was noted at the Entrance to the Ghost Estate beside Mountain View – this had been a heavily littered site in previous IBAL surveys." 

They have big praise for some sites.

"Top ranking sites included Dunnes Stores, the Main Street and Hind’s Square – the latter is an attractively presented town centre environment which looked very well.

They said that the worst littered area was a vacant site. 

"By far the most heavily littered site in Portlaoise was a vacant site on Harpurs Lane."

Other nearby towns also fare well. Naas was again top of the rankings. Mullingar is among the country’s cleanest towns, rising to 9th place in the ranking of 40 towns and cities nationwide. Athlone, also clean in 16th, lost its top ten spot.

In all, three quarters of Ireland’s cities and towns were deemed ‘clean’ in 2022, compared to just over half in the previous year. 

Below the IBAL chart for the final survey of 2022.

An Taisce conducted the survey on behalf of IBAL. Its report for Mullingar stated:

Another very strong result for Mullingar with eight out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade and there were no seriously littered sites.  There was a notable improvement at the Canal Bank which had previous been a seriously littered site – but, clearly a careful eye is required as it could quickly deteriorate to previous status.  The Bring Facility at Blackhall Car Park was moderately littered – the level was such that if not addressed this could slide to a seriously littered site. Blackhall Car Park was very much deserving of the top litter grade, there was a complete absence of litter throughout. 

The An Taisce report for Athlone stated:

Athlone recorded fewer grade A sites than last time round in what was nonetheless a strong performance. Top-ranking sites included Arcadia Retail Park (an exceptionally clean and well-presented environment) and Athlone Civic Centre / Library (attractively presented with lovely paving, visitor information signage, bicycle parking, 1916 memorial etc.) and a couple of the approach routes.  By far the most heavily littered site was Shannon Bank Nature Trail -  (between Talbot Avenue and College Park):  some parts were fine with regard to litter but there was evidence of burnt items and dumping.  The Golden Island / Civic Amenity Recycle Centre was certainly better than in previous IBAL surveys. 

Cleanliness levels nationwide improved by 6% in 2022, with Naas pipping Kilkenny and Maynooth in the rankings. For the third year in succession, Waterford was the cleanest city, ahead of Galway. Urban areas improved by 12%, yet they continue to occupy the lower positions in the IBAL rankings.

“The results reflect a pattern of improvement since the peak of the Covid pandemic, when litter levels soared, especially in cities,” said IBAL’s Conor Horgan. “In particular we are seeing local authorities concentrate their efforts on ridding areas of heavily littered sites. We have no reason to believe this improvement will not be sustained. Cleanliness is a virtuous circle: clean streets beget clean streets, inspiring a pride and consciousness of the environment among people.”  

Plastic bottle and cans continue to be a major source of litter, second only to sweet wrappers and present in one in three of the 500-plus sites surveyed.

"IBAL believes the findings bolster the case for a deposit return scheme, which is due to be introduced this year, and which will see consumers pay a deposit which they can reclaim on returning their containers to a retailer or other collection point.

“Based on this data the scheme is sorely needed and stands to rid our streets of a significant amount of litter. The same applies to the proposed coffee cup levy,” commented Conor Horgan.

While there was a fall in the prevalence of coffee cups, they were still found in 25% of sites surveyed. 

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The survey showed cigarette butts remain a persistent form of litter.

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"We welcome the announcement that cigarette manufacturers will now be contributing to the cost of clean-up, but we really need to see preventative measures such as widespread butt disposal facilities alongside innovative packaging which can store butts," said Conor Horgan.

The Mayor of Naas Municipal District, Cllr Evie Sammon, will be presented at noon today with the inaugural Dr Tom Cavanagh Memorial Trophy, in honour of IBAL’s founder and Chairman, who passed away in September. 2022 marked the 20th anniversary of the IBAL Anti-Litter League.