Litter survey shows that town in Tipperary is one of Ireland's cleaner towns

A recent litter survey has shown that Clonmel in Tipperary is one of Ireland's cleaner towns. 

The latest survey from business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) reveals Clonmel is ‘Clean to European Norms” and in 22nd spot in the ranking of 40 towns and cities across Ireland.

The An Taisce report for the town stated: “A solid result for Clonmel with five top ranking sites, its ranking let down by one heavily littered site at R665 Dungarvan Approach Road. There were a few which just missed the top litter grade and with a little extra care and attention, this could easily be achieved e.g. Mulcahy Park, Glass / Bottle Bank at Mary’s Street and New Quay. John Paul Place Parking and O’Connell Street / Gladstone Street were very much deserving of the top litter grade.”

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Overall, 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 4 areas were branded littered or seriously littered – the lowest number on 5 years. Both Dublin and Cork city centres have improved in advance of the peak season for visitors.

“It is encouraging to see that our main city centres – Dublin and Cork – have improved as we welcome summer visitors to our country. Clean streets are imperative, given the challenges facing Ireland as a high-cost destination,” says IBAL’s Conor Horgan

Dublin’s North Inner City, seriously littered, remains rooted to the foot of the rankings.

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Conor Horgan comments: “No progress is likely in the North Inner City without a ban on bags. We need the Council to come good on its intention to convert the entire city to bin collection services. In addition, it is high time that appropriate legal changes were brought into effect to allow the council to pursue those responsible for littered basements, an age-old blight on our Capital City.”

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," says Conor Horgan.

While the prevalence of coffee cups on our 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.