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THIS morning brought the news that Tralee was ranked 15th out of 40 towns / cities surveyed in the latest Irish Business Against Litter survey.
Declared ‘Clean to European Norms’, An Taisce said Tralee had scored well, with notable improvements at sites such as Boherbee and Castle Street Upper.
There were no very poor sites and they said the ‘anti cigarette butt campaign’ is having a positive impact throughout Tralee.
They said there is still room for improvement on litter signage and this could work in conjunction with other similar campaigns. Another observation was the lack of dog fouling throughout the sites surveyed.
Continued below…
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Here’s what they said about the different parts of town…
Approach from Castleisland: Grade B+. This route just missed getting the top litter grade – cigarette butts, fast-food wrappers and cans were the main litter items.
Approach from Listowel: Grade B. Moderate levels of litter were present along this road, most notably approximately 50m from main approach to the town centre.
Boherbee: Grade A. Overall, Boherbee was very good with regard to litter. There was a notable improvement in the presence of cigarette butts, just minor amounts this time around. ‘Long lying’chewing gum was noted.
Castle Street Upper: Grade B+. The road surface, markings and signage create a fresh impression along Castle Street. With a little extra effort, it could easily get the top litter grade. Food related litter items, plastic bags, face masks and cigarette butts took away from an otherwise good site.
Courthouse Lane: Grade A. Street signage and bollards were fresh and clean and there was lovely paving underfoot at Courthouse Lane. It would seem that there is excellent waste management by theassociated businesses. Care needs to be taken that cigarette butts don’t become problematic.
Milk Market Lane: Grade B. Graffiti had previously been an issue at this site, but this was no longer so on this visit. While there was a notable improvement on cigarette butts, there was still somewhat of a litter presence, mostly food related and some long lying chewing gum.
Páirc an Phiarsaigh: Grade A. A lovely park environment with seating, signage, bins, low-lying planting and grass area in very good condition – Páirc an Phiarsaigh was excellent with regard to litter.
Recycle Facility at SuperValu Car Park: Grade B. There was an untidy appearance to this facility with cardboard boxes / large pieces of plastic and other loose litter items discarded at the base of the units.
Sullivan’s Lane: Grade A. There was a virtual absence of litter along Sullivan’s Lane with the colourfulmural adding a splash of colour.
The Mall: Grade A. The presentation of The Mall was excellent with paving, seating, signage, planting, bins etc. in very good condition. The overall impression was of a virtual absence of litter. It was noted that there were no cigarette butts in the planter boxes, where standalone butt units had been installed.
Connecting Road from Tralee to Killarney: Grade B. A mixed route in terms of litter with some parts cleaner than others. Farranfore to Killarney was very good but Farranfore to Tralee was somewhat littered – fast food wrappers, plastic bags, plastic bottles and coffee cups.
