UNFORTUNATELY, Tralee has lost its ‘Clean to European Norms’ status in the latest Irish Business Against Litter Anti-Litter League Survey
Tralee was ranked 25th out of 40 towns / cities surveyed — down from 21st in January — and was described as ‘Moderately Littered’.
Neighbours Killarney were in 10th position and described as ‘Cleaner Than European Norms’. The An Taisce report on Tralee revealed there were five top ranking sites, combined with three heavily littered sites.
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The judges praised the Lee Riverside Walk, Princes Street Car Park, Lidl area and the Dan Spring Road but some areas such as the Train Station and Market Street came in for criticism. See their report below…
Lee Riverside Walk: Grade A. This lovely waterside environment, in mature setting, was very much deserving of the top litter grade. All aspects were in very good condition e.g. paving, wooden seating, signage, ‘poop & scoop’ facilities etc.
N26 Approach: Grade B+. (Between the two roundabouts). Much of this route presented well with good road surface, markings and signage. The small amounts of litter were mostly parallel to the small park – mainly food related, along with cigarette butts, vapes and promotional flyers.
Lidl – N86: Grade A. This large expanse of shopping area was excellent in terms of presentation and maintenance. It was excellent with regards to litter. Delivery area was neatly presented.
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Princes Street Car Parking: Grade A. A busy environment on day of IBAL visit, not just a car park but also a Farmers’ Market and a meeting spot for a group of hill walkers. Clear signage at the entrance to the car park. Despite all the activity, the car park was excellent with regards to litter.
Dan Spring Road: Grade A. An exceptionally freshly presented route with excellent road / pedestrian surface. The overall impression was of a very clean environment. Plastic ties did feature on many poles.
The Mall: Grade B+. The overall presentation of this site was excellent with lovely paving, large scale tree planters, seating etc. The whole area looked very well. If it wasn’t for the abundance of cigarette butts, this would have been a top-ranking site. Certainly, butt units have been provided, (e.g. stainless facility on planer box) but they are seemingly not being used. Perhaps a cigarette butt awareness campaign might help?
Market Street: Grade C. There has been little improvement in the litter situation since this was last included in IBAL survey – items were mostly smoking (cigarette butts / vapes), and alcohol related.
Deposit Return Scheme, Dunnes Stores: Grade A. Clean facility, all in very good order. Virtual absence of litter.
Tralee Train Station: Grade C+. While the new EV charging stations are a welcome addition to the station, it was disappointing to see little improvement in overall litter situation. The front entrance was littered, along with heavier levels of ‘long-lie’ litter in the shrubs next to the high walls. A more thorough approach to the cleaning regime is required to address this.
Daly’s Lane: Grade C. First impressions were poor, with peeling paint / graffiti at the signage entrance to the lane. Apart from PT Motors (which was spotless), Daly’s Lane presented poorly, not just casually discarded items but significant accumulations of alcohol related litter at the green corrugated fencing, beside the discarded wood – this derelict site is now a magnet for litter. ‘No Dumping’ signage at corner location indicates that the premises are monitored by CCTV – this area wasn’t dumped upon but was littered.
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