'Let down by litter at various vacant premises,' results of litter survey in Tipperary

The final survey of 2021 by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) shows Clonmel again ‘Clean to European Norms’ and rising to 16th place in the ranking of 40 towns and cities.

Tipperary Town, however, has lost its Clean status and is ‘moderately littered’ in 25th spot. The study found PPE litter was found to be at its highest level nationwide since the pandemic began.

Naas finished ahead of Portlaoise and Ennis to record its first win in the annual rankings. There was a slight fall in the number of clean towns nationwide, to 22.

The An Taisce report for Clonmel stated: 

A typically strong performance by Clonmel with seven out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade.  These included all three approach roads, O’Connell Street and Richard Mulchay Park and Playgrounds – the latter is a wonderful resource and was excellently presented and maintained with all aspects within in very good order.  The Bring Centre beside stadium / racecourse was in a poor state in a previous survey – it has improved somewhat but was still moderately littered.  The two most heavily littered sites in Clonmel were the Bring Facility at Westgate Car Park and a Miscellaneous site at corner of Parnell Street and College Street – there was no change at this corner site since it was highlighted in a previous survey.

The An Taisce report for Tipperary Town stated: 

A disappointing showing after a superb result earlier in 2021. Top-ranking sites in Tipperary town included the residential area of Canon Hayes Park, Lidl and Market Yard – the latter was particularly freshly presented and maintained.  The Main Street would have got the top grade but was let down by litter at various vacant premises.  There were heavy levels of litter along the N24 Clonmel Approach Road and Pearse Park.  The Miscellaneous Site at ‘Bank Place’ has been highlighted in many previous IBAL surveys – it remains a heavily littered site.   

PPE litter on the increase

The report showed PPE litter at record levels, with an increase in the presence of both masks and gloves. “It would appear that this litter is accumulating as the pandemic continues, as there remains an understandable reticence to pick up other people’s PPE,” says IBAL’s Conor Horgan. “The disposable blue face mask has become a ubiquitous part of the landscape up and down the country. People have not moved to reusable masks and people are not taking care of their masks.” International research* has found PPE litter accounting for as much as 5% of all litter, and likely to have “a devastating, lasting effect on the environment”. Mask use is forecast to remain high into 2022.

There was a significant rise in other pandemic-related litter, such as coffee cups, while alcohol-related litter remained at previous levels despite hospitality reopening and the survey being conducted in winter.

IBAL has frequently criticised the failure of local authorities to clean up sites identified in its surveys as heavily littered, and this was again the case. Of 89 such sites highlighted in summer last year, only 33% had been addressed by the time of this most recent survey.     

2021 was the 19th year of the IBAL Anti-Litter League.