There’s been a “dramatic fall” in the number of litter blackspots across the country, according to the latest national litter survey.

The Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey shows DubIin, Galway and Limerick have all been cleaning up their act, with a 50% fall in the number of areas deemed ‘blackspots’ for litter.

Naas was once again ranked the cleanest town in Ireland – just ahead of Letterkenny and Cavan.

Two-thirds of the 40 towns and cities included in the survey were found to be ‘clean’, while just two were found to be ‘Seriously littered’.

IBAL litter survey. Image: IBAL

IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan said the survey suggests things are finally improving post-pandemic.

“It's good news on the litter front,” he said. “We have seen a fall in litter levels across the country and, in particular, we’ve seen a dramatic fall in very heavily littered sites – what we deem black spots.

“Dublin is cleaner, Limerick cleaner, Galway is cleaner and even the disadvantaged areas like Dublin’s north inner city and Limerick city south which have been consistently littered for years, they’re showing signs that things are improving.”

PPE

He said the end of restrictions has seen a big fall in PPE litter – but coffee cups remain a major problem.

“Naturally we have seen a fall-off in PPE,” he said. “There’s only half as many masks on our streets as there was six months ago.

“That is good news but, surprisingly, we haven’t seen a huge fall-off in the number of coffee cup litter items.

“That’s despite the fact there is less consumption outdoors and people are back to their coffee shops. Nonetheless coffee cup litter remains very persistent across the country.”

'Seriously littered'

The two towns that remain ‘seriously littered’ were Drogheda in County Louth and Ballybane in County Galway.

An Taisce, which carries out the surveys on behalf of IBAL uncovered dumping at Ballybane, including, “all manner of litter and a mountain of black sacks”.

It also noted “an incredible air of neglect” at Ballybane Industrial Estate, which was used as a dumping ground.

On the other hand, the survey noted ongoing improvement in area like Limerick South and Dublin’s north inner city – which recovered from being labelled a ‘litter blackspot’ last time out to record one of its best results.

Ballymun, branded a litter blackspot a year ago, also improved this time out and was labelled ‘moderately littered’ in the latest poll alongside Cork Northside.

Mr Horgan said local authorities must now double down on the improvements.

“The centres of our main cities are still littered at a time when we are welcoming our peak tourist numbers,” he said.

“For a high-cost destination, higher standards are required.”