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TRALEE was placed 34th out of 40 towns / cities surveyed in the latest Irish Businesses Against Litter report announced today.
The town failed to improve on its ‘moderately littered’ status from 2017 and the An Taisce judges who carried out the survey during the summer had a lot to say about the town in their report.
Discarded chewing gum and cigarette butts are contributing to the moderately littered status and the approach roads are also letting us down. Here’s what they had to say about various streets and areas;
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“There were no seriously littered sites or litter blackspots in Tralee but there was a distinct shortage of litter-free sites with almost all moderately littered. If some of the latter were improved this could make a big difference to Tralee’s overall ranking e.g. Denny Street, The Square and Milk Market Lane. Pairc an Piarsaig was the only top ranking site – it wasn’t just good with regard to litter but also presented very well e.g. seating, bins, grass, planting etc.
The Square: Grade B+ There is a great sense of openness and space at The Square – attractive paving underfoot appeared fresh and the bollards, ornamental trees, seating and bins were in very good condition. It just missed getting the top litter grade – cigarette butts and chewing gum were most obvious with lower levels of sweet wrappers.
Approach from Dingle: Grade B. This road was moderately littered with evidence of plastic bottles, coffee cups, cans and fast-food wrappers. Both sides of the road were somewhat littered and weeds were pronounced.
Rock Street: Grade B. There was a very definite litter presence along Rock Street, most notably close to SuperValu. There was a wide variety of food related items with heavy levels of chewing gum and cigarette butts. It was quite striking along Rock Street how poor the footpath surfaces was – very cracked and uneven in many separate locations.
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Recycle Facility at SuperValu: Grade B. An untidy impression was created at this site. Not only were small litter items were found on the ground but plastic bags / boxes had been deliberately stuffed between the recycle units.
Pairc an Piarsaig: Grade A. This was a very good site with regard to litter. The grounds of the park were in very good order e.g. seating, bins, grass, planting, etc. – a lush and green space which scored very well.
Milk Market Lane: Grade B. There was an attractive ironwork gate entrance to Milk Market Lane and uniform signage of the premises created a neat impression. Façade painting took the ‘bare look’ off a long stretch of wall. Art on electricity box beside the entrance was colourful. Further along Milk Market Lane was less well presented and created a poorer impression with weeds, uneven pathways, graffiti and less well presented buildings. There was a moderate level of litter throughout.
Derelict Site at Godfrey Place: Grade B. This large site is currently being used as a temporary car park. While it was somewhat improved since surveyed in 2017 it was still a littered site. The car park surface was in very poor condition with potholes. Weeds were so pronounced around the perimeter that litter had begun to accumulate within the weeds.
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Denny Street: Grade B+. The presentation of some parts of Denny Street is mixed – some parts were excellent with new paving, trees, colourful planting etc. The side of the road with hotels was definitely less littered than the other side of the road.
Ashe Street: Grade B. The paving along some of Ashe Street presented well and was in contrast to many of the other streets in Tralee which were old and cracked and uneven. Weeds were pronounced at the base of ornamental trees. Cigarette butts and chewing gum were the most common litter types with fast-food wrappers and sweet papers also present.
Approach from Killarney: Grade B. A moderately littered route with plastic bags, sweet papers and plastic bottles the most obvious litter with lower levels of coffee cups and fast-food wrappers.
