LIMERICK City Centre reclaimed its status as a clean area in the final litter survey of 2019, finishing 24th of the 40 towns and cities ranked by the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) group.
And while the Galvone area of Limerick City South is still rated as ‘littered’, it is showing gradual improvement.
The report compiled by An Taisce for Limerick City stated: “Two litter blackspots – at Cecil Street and an area on Ellen Street – let down an otherwise excellent result for Limerick City, which regains its ‘clean’ status.
“Street name signs were in very good condition and created a positive impression. Many of the riverside sites such as Bishop’s Quay, Honan’s Quay and Clancy Strand were not just good with regard to litter but also very well presented and maintained.
“Some other top ranking sites included King John’s Castle and the shopping areas of Roches Street and William Street.
“Clare Street was seriously littered. Chewing gum was very pronounced at many of the city centre and riverside sites.”
The report for Galvone stated: “We continue to see gradual improvement in Galvone generally. Galvone Road was much improved on previous IBAL litter surveys.
“The residential area of O’Malley Park was problematic with regard to litter in previous litter surveys. This time it was somewhat improved, but still littered. In Kennedy Park, the large expansive grass area was well presented and maintained and very good with regard to litter.
“Galvone Business Park / Industrial Estate was deemed a litter blackspot due to the dumping at the end of the estate – it was in a shocking state, and this has been highlighted before.
“Where does responsibility for this area lie, as the remainder of the estate was generally good with regard to litter?” the assessors asked.
“Recycle Facility at Roxboro Shopping Centre was also a very poor site – again, no stranger to this very poor ranking. It wasn’t just casually littered, but subject to dumping,” the report concluded.
Kilkenny topped the IBAL litter rankings for a record fourth time, having last won in 2014. It finished ahead of Killarney, which was third in 2018.
