The North Inner City has achieved its strongest litter survey result to date, with inspectors reporting no major litter blackspots and significant improvements in several areas that have long struggled with rubbish and illegal dumping.
The latest survey by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) found the North Inner City had improved to a “moderately littered” ranking, alongside Ballymun and Dublin City Centre, while Swords continued to perform strongly.
An Taisce, which carries out the surveys on behalf of IBAL, said the result was the best ever recorded for the North Inner City.
“This is the best result to date for North Inner City Dublin,” inspectors said.
“It was most encouraging to see no litter blackspots or dumped upon sites, and so many top ranking sites.”
The report points to a marked improvement in a number of locations that have frequently appeared in previous surveys for the wrong reasons.
The corner of Ossory Road and West Road, Upper Sherrard Street and Summerhill all recorded significant improvements and were awarded the highest litter grade.
Inspectors also reported that Ballybough Road and North Strand were looking particularly well during the latest assessment.
The report suggested that anti-litter initiatives and awareness campaigns introduced by Dublin City Council over the past year may be contributing to the improved results.
Not every area escaped criticism, however.
Residential areas including Sheriff Street Lower, Crinan Strand and Spencer Dock were all described as heavily littered, although inspectors noted that large-scale dumping, which had been recorded in previous years, was no longer evident.
The survey also brought encouraging news for Ballymun, which improved its ranking compared to previous inspections.
Poppintree Park received particular praise from inspectors, who described the Green Flag park as being remarkably clean and well maintained throughout.
The residential area of Gateway Crescent and the retail area around Spar on Balbutcher Lane were also found to be less heavily littered than in previous surveys.
However, challenges remain in parts of the area.
Seven Heroes Square was criticised for a noticeable presence of casually discarded litter despite recent investment in landscaping, seating and public art.
Inspectors also highlighted continued dumping behind fencing at the entrances to the former Ballymun Towers sites, while the Bring Centre at Shangan Road was once again identified as a persistently littered location. Elsewhere on the Northside, Swords continued its strong performance, with seven of the ten sites surveyed receiving the highest litter grade.
Main Street was singled out for praise, with inspectors describing it as exceptionally well presented and maintained, while Swords Town Park and the Dublin Road approach to the town were also commended.
The only significant issue identified in Swords was at the Bring Centre on Watery Lane, where dumping behind the facility remains a problem.
The latest findings come as IBAL says litter levels nationally are at their lowest point in a quarter of a century.
“As the peak season for tourist visitors approaches, we have fewer littered areas than we’ve had at any time in the last 25 years,” said IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan.
“The job’s not done, but across the country, local authorities appear to have upped their game when it comes to tackling persistently littered sites and dumping in our towns and cities.”
Despite the overall improvement, the survey found that bottles, cans, coffee cups and cigarette butts remain among the most common forms of litter found on Irish streets. Plastic bottles were found at 19 per cent of surveyed sites and cans at 22 per cent, while coffee cup litter reached its highest level since 2023.
The study also recorded a significant increase in cigarette butt litter compared with last year.