TRALEE has slipped to 33rd place out of 40 towns and cities in the latest survey of towns in Ireland by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) and is deemed ‘moderately littered’.
Killarney was placed 8th in the league and is again “Cleaner than European Norms”.
It continued Tralee slip in the placings. Tralee went from third place in August 2015 when it was ‘Cleaner Than European Norms’, to 17th place in January 2016 down to ‘Clean to European Norms’.
The report for Tralee stated: “Something of a fall-off in cleanliness for Tralee following a year’s absence from the league. Kerry County Museum presented very well – it is a magnificent building and area was being enhanced at time of survey. Tralee Town Park / Rose Garden was also a top ranking site.”
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“By far the most heavily littered site surveyed in Tralee was the Derelict Site at Godfrey Place – this site was characterised by abuse and neglect. As a general observation in Tralee, it was noted that the pavement surface was quite poor in many different survey areas. There were five moderately littered sites – if some of these could be improved it could make a different to Tralee’s overall ranking.”
Over 90% of rural towns surveyed were deemed clean, while Dublin, Cork and Galway city centres all scored well. IBAL says a lack of community involvement explains why certain disadvantaged urban areas continue to be plagued by litter despite improvements elsewhere.
The An Taisce report for Killarney stated: “Killarney improved to a top ten position at a time of year when it needs to show its best side to the many tourists visiting. With nine out of the ten sites getting the top litter grade there are some that deserve special mention: Main Street, Bottle Bank in car park on Main Street, Jarvey Park in town centre and Muckross House Environs – the latter was exceptionally well presented and maintained. Many of the buildings along ‘New Street’ were brightly painted.”
An Taisce assess litter levels in 40 towns and cities on behalf of IBAL. 80% of areas were found to be clean, with a top tier of 16 towns deemed “cleaner than European Norms”.
Tullamore topped the rankings, followed by Dublin Airport Environs and Leixlip.
85% of 32 tourist sites surveyed were clean, among them Killarney’s Muckross House and the Kerry County Museum in Tralee, with the remainder exhibiting small amounts of litter.
Set up in 1996, Irish Business Against Litter is an alliance of companies sharing a belief that continued economic prosperity – notably in the areas of tourism, food and direct foreign investment – is contingent on a clean, litter-free environment.
As part of the IBAL Anti-Litter League, An Taisce monitors towns independently and in accordance with international grading standards.