Beer cans and dog fouling in council field affects Portlaoise litter rating

Portlaoise has improved by one place to 17th out of 40 in the latest IBAL (Irish Businesses Against Litter) survey.

One heavily littered site is stopping the town from soaring back towards the number one spot it held in 2021.

Despite great efforts by Portlaoise Tidy Towns volunteers and council staff to keep the town clean as a whistle, a site and field owned by Laois County Council that is repeatedly targeted by anti-social trespassers, continue to affect the grade.

The first IBAL town and city survey of 2024 places Portlaoise at a respectable Clean to European Norms standard.

Seven out of ten areas surveyed got top grades from the An Taisce judges, including Main Street and Hinds Square.

"By far the most heavily littered site surveyed in Portlaoise was Harper’s Lane & environs," the IBAL report states.

The privately built housing estate on Harpur's Lane was destroyed by vandals, later blocked up and force bought by the council. It is waiting for over three years to be developed into a new 54 home social housing estate, to end decades of anti-social behaviour including dumping. Their field behind it will be incorporated into the estate with construction "imminent" by Clúid Housing, according to the latest council report.

This is what the judges had to say about it.

"Harper's Lane & Environs: Grade C. This was by far the most heavily littered site surveyed in Portlaoise. However, change is afoot, with the demolition of a series of derelict houses (Mountain View) – potentially new developments to take place. There’s a large expanse of green space beside this – there were heavy levels of alcohol cans, plastic bottles and dog fouling, with lower levels of general paper and plastic. The overall impression was a poor one."

The entrance to Hepburn Court, Portlaoise. Image: Google Maps

Peppers Lane and Portlaoise Train Station exterior each got Grade B, but seven other areas got a clean sweep of A grades. 

"Peppers Lane: Grade B. While not as heavily littered as some previous IBAL surveys, there was still a definite presence. The overall impression was of an area which lacked a thorough cleaning e.g heavy leaf accumulations in a corner, with litter atop. Graffiti was also a feature, along with crumbling masonry and some glass.

"Butlers House - Pepper Lane: Grade A. Clearly a careful eye is kept on this series of closed down premises as there was no litter directly associated with them. The original buildings, with semi-classical frontages / façade could be so elegant, under the correct conditions. A baby’s buggy had seemingly been abandoned close by.

"Portlaoise Train Station – Exterior: Grade B. The overall impression at the exterior of the train station was of an area which lacked a thorough cleaning, particularly in various corner locations. Some items were food related, along with cigarette butts. There were no visible litter bins / cigarette butt units.

"Portlaoise Train Station – Interior: Grade A. There was a virtual absence of litter along the station platform and within the waiting room. This area is well served by litter bins. All aspects of the station were in good order.

"N80 Mountmellick Approach Road: Grade A. This hedge lined route was very good with regards to litter, creating a positive first impression of Portlaoise.

"Main Street: Grade A. An exceptionally clean and tidy main shopping street. Cleaning regime would appear to be very thorough, there was a complete absence of litter throughout.

"Hinds Square: Grade A. This mixed-use environment was freshly presented. Retail spaces were in good order, with housing close-by. It was spotless.

"Bring Facility - Laois County Council Building: Grade A. This small and neatly arranged facility got the top litter grade, but only just. There were some bottle tops on the ground and a plastic bag stuffed between the units.

"Towards N77 from Portlaoise – approach: Grade A. A freshly presented route with road surface / markings / signage and grass area to the side in very good order. There were no visible litter issues throughout," the IBAl report states.

The first national litter survey by business group IBAL since the introduction of the Government’s Deposit Return Scheme revealed a fall in cans and plastic bottle litter.  There was a rise in the number of sites deemed clean across the country, with a significant fall in those judged to be ‘heavily littered’. Naas was top of the rankings of 40 towns and cities, but Dublin City Centre failed to improve and is still ‘littered’.

The study, conducted by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL, showed a healthy rise in towns reaching the upper tier of cleanliness – ‘Cleaner than European Norms’ – and a fall of 35% in the number of towns branded ‘littered’. Naas regained the top position it lost last year to neighbouring Maynooth, ahead of Monaghan and new entrant Blanchardstown. Ballybane in Galway slipped to bottom of the rankings, followed by DubIin City Centre, North Inner City and Ballymun, which failed to maintain its improvement of last year. 

“Our study paints a much better picture than a few years ago, with levels of cleanliness definitely rising,” says IBAL’s Conor Horgan. “Once again, no town was judged to be either a ‘litter blackspot’ or ‘heavily littered’ – that’s real progress, progress that has been hard earned in our cities.”