Clonmel maintains IBAL litter-free status
Clonmel has achieved eighth place in the first round results of the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey which was published last week, maintaining the litter-free status it was awarded in 2009. Clonmel was surveyed along with 52 other towns around the country and achieving the eighth position has been described by An Taisce as an 'excellent result'. Wexford was judged Ireland's cleanest town in the survey, while Waterford emerged as the cleanest city.
Commenting on Clonmel’s success this year, An Taisce said that of the 17 Munster towns surveyed by IBAL, only Killarney was better than Clonmel.
“Another excellent result. All four of the approach routes into Clonmel were Clean to European Norms and this high standard was maintained for the majority of the sites surveyed.
“The Presentation Primary School is a Green Flag School and the ethos of the Green Flag was very much in evidence. Wolfe Tone Street was particularly enhanced by the painting of some of the period terraced houses. Gladstone Street, O’Connell Street and St. Mary’s Church Car Park were moderately littered.”
Ten locations around Clonmel were surveyed in total and their results are as follows:
-R671 Approach Road: Clean to European Norms - clean and well maintained approach road with individual properties and public areas in good condition.
-Presentation Primary School: Clean to European Norms - Green Flag school which was completely litter free. Not only was it clear of all litter but the general built environment was in excellent condition.
-Wolfe Tone Street: Clean to European Norms - there was a virtual absence of litter along this road of period terraced houses. Many of houses have been painted which contributes to the overall appearance of the street.
-O’Connell Street: Moderately Littered - the street is very well served by litter bins but the casualness of a few took away from what could be a top ranking site. Most of the litter was food related (sweet papers and fast-food wrappers) with high levels of cigarette butts.
-Mitchell Street: Clean to European Norms - the overall presentation of Mitchell Street was good with individual premises brightly coloured and well maintained. There was a virtual absence of litter despite the apparent lack of bins.
-St. Mary’s Church Car Park: Moderately Littered - there was a very definite litter presence at this site. There were heavy levels of cans, sweet papers, fast-food wrappers and chewing gum along the base of the hedges and at the base of the blue and white pole. If not tackled the litter situation will only deteriorate further.
-Gladstone Street: Moderately Littered - the level of litter at this site was such that it was verging on becoming a serious litter problem. Much of the litter was at the kerb where the area needs a thorough cleaning.
-From N24 into town: Clean to European Norms - this was a fantastic approach into Clonmel. The large municipal flower planting/grassy area was in meticulous condition and the overall impression created along this route was very positive.
-N24 Cahir Approach Road: Clean to European Norms - another excellent approach route, very well maintained and clear of litter.
-N24 Waterford Approach Road: Clean to European Norms - there was a virtual absence of litter along this sweeping route into Clonmel. The road surface/signage/markings were in very good condition.
Litter Twitter
But a fall in the overall number of litter-free towns has prompted IBAL to call on all businesses to clean up outside their premises twice-a-day to improve streetscapes. And Tipperary people are invited to submit photos by mobile phone of litter blackspots in their neighbourhood as part of a 'litter twitter' campaign to alert local authorities to litter-ridden areas locally.
"This is the perfect technology through which people can highlight areas that urgently need cleaning up," explained Dr Tom Cavanagh, chairperson of IBAL.
"Primary routes at the entrances to our main cities and ring roads are often heavily littered, and cleaning is infrequent and inconsistent," said Dr Cavanagh.
"We need cleaning schedules for these routes, like those in Northern Ireland. We also need a portion of the monies which the National Roads Authority (NRA) gives to county councils for general maintenance and cleaning to be set aside strictly for the purpose of cleaning up litter. Tourists visiting the country would quickly notice the change this would bring about."
According to the Litter Act, businesses are responsible for keeping the visible areas outside their premises free of litter at all times, regardless of the source of the litter.
The survey also showed gum litter levels to be ever-increasing, IBAL restated its contention that only degradable gum should be sold in Ireland, as opposed to conventional gum, which remains stuck to pavements for up to 25 years.
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Weather for Clonmel
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
