Ireland’s towns and cities are dirtier than ever, particularly in Dublin, with litter levels at their worst in 13 years.
Dublin's North Inner City is seriously littered and things are worse in Ballymun as it has been named the city's worst litter blackspot.
Litter levels rose in 24 of the 37 towns and cities that were inspected at the end of 2020. IBAL (Irish Business Against Litter) said the findings represent a sharp decline in tidy towns – noting that just three years ago, 80% of the towns in the survey were considered to be clean.
IBAL found that coffee cups were among the most prevalent litter types found.
There was also a rise in glass bottles and cans, which may suggest that outdoor drinking didn't decrease during the winter months.
The survey also showed that the second half of 2020 brought a further increase in PPE-related litter, primarily masks.
IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan said standards are slipping during the pandemic.
“It has been a disappointing result,” he said. “This latest survey shows that fewer than half our towns and cities are clean – that is our worst result in 13 years.
“If I bring you back only three years, we had 80% of our towns clean. So, we have had a significant fall-back and COVID is a factor.”
Mr Horgan said “COVID is clearly a factor” but warned that we “should never accept litter as inevitable.
“It comes down to people disposing of their waste without regard for their surroundings or their fellow citizens and it is entirely unnecessary."
He highlighted that virus restrictions have seen the public spending more time that ever outdoors. Meanwhile councils have been reducing cleaning services.
“Eight months into the pandemic, we would have hoped people would have moved to reusable masks with a resulting fall in mask-related litter.
“In fact, we are seeing more and more of them ending up our streets.”
Meanwhile, Kilkenny topped the list as the cleanest city in the country for a record fifth time. Killarney, Ennis and Tullamore closely followed.
