LATEST: Naas wins back "Cleanest Town" title from Maynooth

A fall in plastic bottles and cans on our streets, brought about by the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), was not enough to reduce overall litter levels in Ireland last year.

That is the finding of business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL), whose latest survey of 40 towns and cities shows Naas regaining the crown of ‘cleanest town‘ that it lost to Maynooth in 2023, with Maynooth in 5th.

The An Taisce report for Naas stated:

Well done Naas!  This didn’t happen overnight and it’s a great result compared to the early days of IBAL surveys.  A new addition to the survey sites was the recently opened Naas Plaza – spotless on the day of the IBAL survey.  The Canal Bank / Basin environment wasn’t just a waterside amenity but has been further expanded to include ‘Naas Community Garden’ with colourful low-lying planting.  Clearly a careful eye is kept on the Derelict Site at Canal Basin as there was no litter directly associated with it. 

The An Taisce report for Maynooth stated:

Following the great success in last year's IBAL Anti-Litter League, Maynooth continues to outperform almost all of the towns surveyed in 2024.  With so many top ranking sites, there were some which deserved special mention – Leinster Street, SuperValu Shopping Centre and Courthouse Square – the latter is a lovely town centre environment which has been attractively laid out and well maintained.  The car park at Lidl was moderately littered.

Overall litter levels were on a par with 12 months ago. In all, 60% of the towns and cities surveyed were deemed ‘clean’.

On a positive note, 2024 saw a further fall in the number of sites within cities and towns that were deemed ‘litter blackspots’, which suggests that local authorities were generally more effective in tackling urban dumping and in addressing sites that IBAL had previously highlighted.

The survey also revealed a near-50% fall in the prevalence of plastic bottles and cans in the 500+ sites monitored since the Deposit Return Scheme was introduced last year.

“We are definitely seeing cans and bottles disappear from our streets, which is very welcome – not only are they unsightly, but the bottles contribute to the very real problem of plastic pollution. However, it is clear from our survey that people continue to discard a wide range of litter types with flagrant disregard for their surroundings,” says Conor Horgan. Sweet wrappers and fast-food wrappers were the most common litter types, ahead of plastic bags and coffee cups, which were present in over 20% of sites. 

“The DRS was one of a number of structural measures broached by the last government as part of its environmental agenda, with knock-on benefits in terms of litter. A ban on disposable vapes and a coffee cup levy were others.

“The need for such measures is evident in the stubbornly low penetration levels of refillable coffee cups and the proliferation of highly damaging vape litter, which cannot be recycled. If we are to see sustainable improvement nationwide, it is important that the incoming regime maintain the momentum on anti-litter legislation.”

Killarney, which outlawed disposable coffee cups in 2023, was one of the most improved towns last year, rising from 14th to 4th in the rankings. “Given the evident success of this initiative in Killarney, it is perplexing why other towns have not yet followed suit,” commented Conor Horgan.     

The Dr. Tom Cavanagh Memorial Trophy will be presented to the Cathaoirleach of County Kildare Cllr. Kevin Duffy at Naas Library & Cultural Centre at noon today.  

Set up in 1996, Irish Business Against Litter 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.

As part of the IBAL Anti-Litter League, An Taisce monitors towns independently and in accordance with international grading standards.