Dundalk maintains ‘Clean’ status in litter survey

Dundalk has held on to its improved status in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey, ranking 25th out of 40 towns and maintaining its ‘Clean to European Norms’ status which it achieved in the last survey released at the beginning of the year.

The report said that there has been a steady improvement in Dundalk, compared to just a few short years ago when it was near the foot of the rankings with half the sites surveyed in the top-ranking sites and no areas deemed very heavily littered.

The report remarked that “Church Street was very much deserving of the top litter grade, as was the residential area of Racecourse Meadows and Clanbrassil Street – enhancement works have taken place, and it looked very well.”

However, it also said that while there was some improvement noted at Riverbank at Castletown River Bridge, there was still a definite litter presence and that the Laneway at ‘ToolFix’, on Dublin Road presents poorly.

IBAL was established in 1996 by businessman Dr Tom Cavanagh to promote a litter free environment.

IBAL is an alliance of companies sharing a belief that “continued economic prosperity – notably in the areas of tourism, food and direct foreign investment – is contingent on a clean, litter-free environment”. In addition, IBAL believes all citizens have the right to a clean living environment.

Since 2002, Irish Business Against Litter has commissioned An Taisce to carry out litter surveys of our main towns and cities according to international standards. The towns and cities are then ranked in a league table format.

The An Taisce report for Dundalk gave verdicts on ten different locations in the town, with the top five receiving a Grade A, two a Grade B+, two a grade C+ and one a grade C.

Clanbrassil St received a Grade A in the report

The verdicts on each of the ten, ranking from A to D with An Taisce’s comments on each, were as follows:

Laneway at ‘ToolFix’, on Dublin Road: Grade C. This site presents very poorly with not just casual litter but industrial waste plastic wrapping and other miscellaneous items. An overflowing wheely bin at an adjacent building further contributes to the problem. This is likely to deteriorate further, if not addressed.

Lidl (N52): Grade A. The overall impression created at this site was a positive one with shrubs / grasslands in good order. Chewing gum was pronounced at the base of the litter bin at store entrance. Trolley bays were litter free and the remaining area looked well.

Riverbank at Castletown River Bridge: Grade C+. An improvement was noted at this site, albeit there was still a pronounced litter presence, primarily plastic bottles and mineral cans, with lower levels of sweet wrappers. Perhaps the plastic bottles / cans pre-date the Deposit Return Scheme?

N52 Newry Approach: Grade A. A freshly presented route with road surface / markings / signage in good order. Grasslands had recently been attended. There were no visible litter issues, and this route created a positive first impression of Dundalk.

Racecourse Meadows: Grade A. This very new residential development is partially occupied and still under construction. It was freshly presented, with a virtual absence of litter throughout. There were no obvious litter issues at the area still under construction.

Public Park at Maxwells Row: Grade B+. The park space at Maxwells Row just missed the top litter grade. Loose litter items (sweet wrappers, fast-food wrappers, alcohol wrappers) speckled the pathway. The base of the trees had been enhanced with colourful planters. With a little extra effort, this could be top ranking.

Church Street: Grade A. An air of rejuvenation prevailed along Church Street with lovely paving, on- street planters, seating and sculptures – all looked very well. There was a complete absence of litter throughout the area surveyed.

Basements of Nos. 18 / 17 / 16 Francis Street: Grade C+. As well as casually discarded food related litter, miscellaneous items had begun to accumulate. If the litter remains unattended, it’s likely to attract further littering.

Clanbrassil Street: Grade A. The seemingly recently laid paving looked very well, and area was enhanced by an abundance of colourful low-lying planting at the base of the trees. Litter bins and wooden seating were freshly presented. Area was well served by plenty of litter bins. Overall, Clanbrassil Street was very much deserving of the top litter grade.

Laneway, visible from Clanbrassil Street: Grade B+ (leading to Cost Cutters Car Park). A much improved site compared to previous IBAL surveys – this time around, it just missed the top litter grade.

Nationally, two-thirds of towns were clean, which was up on 2024. Naas was once again top of the ranking of 40 towns and cities, ahead of Ennis and Killarney. Only four areas were branded littered or seriously littered – the lowest number in five years. Both Dublin and Cork city centres have improved in advance of the peak season for visitors.

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One year on from the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, plastic bottle and can litter is down 50% on previous levels but was still found in 20% of the 500-plus sites surveyed across the country.

"We hope that the scheme will see the disappearance of this litter, but statistics so far do not bear this out. Cans and plastic bottles are far from a rare sight on our streets and in our hedgerows," said IBAL’s Conor Horgan.

While the prevalence of coffee cups on streets remains stubbornly high, there was a fall-off in disposable vape litter. The UK and Northern Ireland outlawed disposable vapes earlier this month and a ban here is likely in the coming months.

The survey found the main streets of towns to be generally clean, as were heritage and amenity sites. Residential areas, bus and train stations and recycle facilities were most likely to be littered.