Home

Poor markes for Dublin in litter survey

Thursday, 21 January 2010

DUBLIN City faired poorly in an extensive litter study carried out recently by the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL). The capital ranked 51st out of 60 towns and cities surveyed, a result which according to IBAL is “not good enough for our capital city as less than half of the sites surveyed were clean to European norms”. “Some of the poorest city centre sites were those which had basements which were in a terrible state, dragging down the overall ranking of the site,” the report states. “Why is the Litter Act not enforced against the occupiers?” Moore Street was among the sites blamed for the poor result as it was deemed a ‘litter blackspot’. “All of the litter on this street was associated with the street stalls – there has been a long-standing issue of litter at this site and there was little change this time around,” the report states. Parnell Square was also categorised as a blackspot for litter. “Much of the litter at this site was in the basement of the houses – a couple of houses have not been only riddled with litter but ignored and neglected. “The remainder of the site had a definite litter presence. As long as these properties are ignored the litter situation can only deteriorate even further.” Meanwhile, O’Connell Street faired well in the IBAL study, which categorised it as ‘clean to European norms’. “The overall presentation of this main thoroughfare was excellent,” the report states. “Big money has been invested in this street and thankfully it is getting the attention it deserves – it was in a spotless and pristine condition and was exceptionally well served by litter bins.” Meanwhile, there was good news for Blanchardstown as it was awarded tenth place in the litter study. The hub of Dublin 15 was marked highly among the list of 60 towns and cities surveyed throughout the country. Three out of the four approach routes into the town even got the top litter grade, despite the fact that road works were taking place along the approach from the M50. The Castleknock and Clonsilla approach roads were also deemed “clean to European norms” with a complete absence of litter. Blanchardstown National and Boys’ Secondary Schools were also commended for being attractively landscaped and very well maintained. Main Street in Blanchardstown, however, was marked down as “moderately littered” with food related litter discarded among the leaves. The recycle facility at the Greyhound Inn was also categorised as “moderately littered” as a result of overflowing bins and discarded bags on the ground. “Clearly this facility needs to be better maintained  - it will only get worse if not addressed,” the IBAL report stated.