Despite the success of Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme in reducing plastic bottle and can litter, overall littering levels remained unchanged throughout 2024, according to the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey.
The survey, conducted by An Taisce across more than 500 sites, showed plastic bottle and can litter has halved since the scheme’s introduction. However, broader cleanliness challenges persist, particularly in urban areas.
Naas emerged as Ireland’s cleanest town for the third time in four years, followed by Kilkenny and Monaghan. An Taisce praised Naas’s long-term commitment to cleanliness, highlighting spots like the new Naas Plaza as “spotless.” Killarney, which banned disposable coffee cups in 2023, showed remarkable improvement, jumping from 14th to 4th place.
According to The Journal, cities generally fared worse than towns, with Dublin’s North Inner City ranked as the only “seriously littered” area in the country. The capital’s challenges were highlighted by cases of widespread dumping, with inspectors noting “vast quantities” of food and alcohol-related litter on Emmet Road and furniture dumping along Crinian Strand.
These findings have strengthened IBAL’s push for expanding Dublin’s “bag bins” ban, which was implemented in the south inner city last week and is planned to extend north of the Liffey by summer.
On a positive note, there was a decrease in “litter blackspots” during 2024, suggesting improved effectiveness of local authorities in tackling urban dumping. Overall, 60% of surveyed towns and cities were classified as “clean.”