IBAL survey says litter levels 'worst' in 10 years

Cavan has climbed up two more places in the Irish Businesses Against Litter (IBAL) league in the last 12 months.

The county town has retained its status as 'clean to European norms'. It is now ranked 23rd on the list out of 40 towns and cities monitored nationwid.

Neighbouring county towns Longford and Monaghan are now both now regarded as 'moderately littered' and rank just after Cavan in the report in 24th and 25th place respectively.

The survey, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic, has also shown that PPE litter such as discarded masks and gloves, are now prominent across the country. There was also a rise in the prevalence of cans and glass bottles.

“The rise in litter levels this year is across the board,” says IBAL’s Conor Horgan. “The Covid crisis has seen more dumping, more outdoor socialising, especially drinking, and PPE litter, but less cleaning by local authorities and less activity by volunteers like Tidy Towns - a perfect storm, in many ways, which has brought us to the worst position we’ve been in in over 10 years.”

Overall, there was a dramatic fall in the number of towns and cities deemed to be ‘clean’, to its lowest level since 2007. Kilkenny was again judged best of the surveyed, with ‘seriously littered’ Dublin North Inner City at the foot of the table.

The Taisce report for Cavan stated: 'Cavan is among the most consistent towns we survey – clean, but middle as opposed to top-ranking. The Recycle Facility at Tesco carpark was a much-improved site and it looks like great care has been taken with the overall presentation of same.'

Sites Top ranking sites in Cavan Town included Bridge Street and the residential area of Ashgrove. 'Both were not just good with regard to litter but were well presented and maintained,' read the report.

The town was "let down" by "one very poor site", according to the survey - an abandoned building at the corner of R212 and Ballinagh Road. 'It wasn’t just casually littered but subject to dumping over a prolonged period of time,' said the author of the report.

The Taisce report for Monaghan commented The Diamond area but said that, directly beside it, 'The Diamond Centre' was a "heavily littered site" on the day inspectors visited.

'There was little change at the Recycle Facility at New Road, which continues to present very poorly with items stuffed between, beneath and behind the recycle units,' the report added.

An Taisce, who carried out the survey, deemed 23 towns to be ‘clean’, a fall of over 20% on last year.

Mr Horgan also noted that. in the fight against COVID-19, some local authorities had curtailed cleaning schedules and diverted resources to other areas. At the same time, households have been generating more litter during lockdown

However, the report notes that there was a reduction in cigarette butts, perhaps also a reflection of pubs and offices being closed.

“In these exceptional times, when councils’ resources are stretched, civic responsibility is called for more than ever,” says Mr Horgan.

“The mantra ‘we’re all in this together’ extends to the proper disposal of waste, not least waste that is prone to contamination. With fewer people available or willing to pick up litter, the message has to be ‘don’t litter in the first place.’”

2020 is the 18th year of the IBAL Anti-Litter League.