Dun Laoghaire maintains high ranking in litter league

DUN Laoghaire has maintained its position as one of the cleanest urban areas in the country, following the publication of the latest findings of a major litter survey.

The seaside town was voted the eleventh cleanest of 42 areas surveyed across the country by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) and was deemed to be

“cleaner than European norms

?.

The result for Dun Laoghaire is an improvement on the last survey published in August when the town was ranked in 14th position.

The latest report on the Southside town stated:

“An excellent result for Dun Laoghaire, with all of the sites surveyed getting the top litter grade.

“What was noticeable was some previously littered sites were clean this time around for example on Glenageary Road Lower and George’s Street Upper.

?

All 10 sites in Dun Laoghaire that were surveyed in the report received

‘A’ grades.

Don McManus, chairman of the Dun Laoghaire Business Association, welcomed the result, and said local traders had worked hard to improve the image of the town.

“We were party to the charter for Dun Laoghaire that was set up through Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council,

? he said.

“That charter was very important because all the shops in the town here signed up to it, and in doing so agreed to maintain the appearance of shops, to clean the streets and to report any graffiti and remove it.

“We have a problem in Dun Laoghaire with fly posting, so we take the fly posters down ourselves and try to monitor graffiti in the town,

? he added.

“We also liaise with all the stakeholders in the area to try and project the town into a very pleasant vista.

?

While the ranking of Tallaght decreased from 26th in August to 30th position in the latest survey, the authors of the survey, An Taisce, said it had achieved another positive result and it was deemed to be

“cleaner to European norms

?.

“Not as good as Survey 1, 2012 – but another great result for Tallaght, with seven out of the 10 sites surveyed getting the top litter grade,

? the report states.

“These sites were not just clear of litter but very well presented and maintained for example at the Tallaght Civic Theatre and environs, Scoil Cholmcille and Tallaght Luas stop.

?

Meanwhile, the ranking of Dublin City Centre fell slightly to 40th from its 37th position in the survey carried out in August. The city centre was deemed to be

“moderately littered

? in the report.

“On a positive note, over half of the sites surveyed in Dublin City got the top litter grade but what really brought down the overall ranking was the high proportion of litter blackspots,

? the report points out.

A number of areas in the south city came in for criticism such as Francis Street, which received a

‘D’ grade and which the report said had become a

“dumping ground primarily for alcohol related litter.

?

The junction of Westmoreland Street and College Green, which also received a

‘D’ grade, was described as a

“bad site

?.

However, the areas of Temple Bar, Trinity College and D’Olier Street were highly praised and received

‘A’ grades in the survey.