WATERFORD City has lost its top ten spot in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey. While still categorised as ‘Clean’, Waterford has slipped to 16th position in the ranking of 40 towns and cities nationwide which is conducted in association with An Taisce.
Ballybeg failed to retain its ‘Clean’ status and is now “moderately littered” in 34th place.
The adjudication report for Waterford City stated that the city “deserves much praise”.
A number of locations were specifically mentioned including Plunkett Train Station which received a “special mention” for its overall presentation and maintenance of the exterior environment.
Areas including The Mall, Barronstrand Street, Hanover Street and Great George’s Street were all top ranking.
The city’s ‘Cultural Quarter’ was deemed to be “an excellent environment in terms of both overall presentation and litter.” Meanwhile, The Mall, Barronstrand Street, Hanover Street and Great George’s Street were also all top ranking. The People’s Park is described as “a wonderful site” which is “clearly a much respected and cared for environment.”
However, the New Street Community Garden was by far the most heavily littered site surveyed in Waterford City.
“This beautifully laid out ‘pocket park’ in the centre of the city has been very poorly respected, to the extent that it would be unpleasant to sit and enjoy,” the report stated.
“It wasn’t just littered but subjected to dumping e.g. duvet and clothing items. Where does responsibility for this site lie?” The Bus Eireann Bus Depot and the Bottle / Clothing Bank directly outside were both regarded as being “very poor”. The An Taisce report for Ballybeg stated that its result suffered primarily due to two litter blackspots. The Horticultural Project Initiative (subject to long-term dumping e.g. mattresses and bedding) and an area beside the GAA Club were both cited as needing attention.
Top ranking sites included Ballybeg Community Project, St. Saviour’s GAA Club and the residential areas of Glencarra and Priory Lawn.Overall, 31 towns and cities were found to be clean. This was in line with recent IBAL surveys. Kilkenny topped the rankings for the fifth time, ahead of Athlone and Killarney, and the centres of the main cities Dublin, Cork and Galway were cleaner than previously with only Limerick failing to achieve ‘Clean’ status.
