Cavan drops back in IBAL survey but still clean

Cavan has fallen five places to 17th but still remains 'Clean to European Norms', according to the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) rankings published this week.

The county town featured in 12th place when the survey was last published in June 2024, but begins 2025 further down the list despite six out of the ten sites inspected getting the top litter grade.

No sites checked were deemed heavily littered.

The residential area of Ardkeen was considered much improved by inspectors who noted that the recycle/bring centre was among the cleanest nationwide and a model for others to follow.

Elsewhere, Cavan Courthouse and the grounds of Cavan County Council HQ were found to be in excellent order, and Con Smith Memorial Park and Con Smith Playground deemed spotless throughout.

However, there was a noticeable litter presence, mostly food items and cigarette butts, on the R198 Arvagh approach road, which got a 'B' grade; and also on Church Street and Main Street where “fast-food wrappers and sweet papers, along with cigarette butts” remain a problem.

The R212 approach again got a less than perfect commendation. “It just missed the top litter grade – there were too many loose random items, mostly food related,” said the IBAL survey.

Paul Lynch of Cavan Tidy Towns acknowledged that there are “improvements to be made" and plenty of positives to build on.

"There are some positive points to take way. So we're going to work with IBAL and follow up on the report, and anything that needs addressing we'll address it," he told the Celt this week.

The award winning Tidy Towns group already has a close working relationship with Cavan County Council's Waste Management section, and with various communities scattered across the environs of the county town.

And, with the re-emergence of a cohesive Chamber of Commerce at the back end of last year, Mr Lynch is hopeful that more businesses will help tackle issues around litter locally.

“There is a bigger picture to everything we do. It's not just about Tidy Towns, or the Council. Everyone needs to play their part and get involved. We need businesses and communities to work together on this. We've had top five finishes in IBAL before, and can do it again. There is always going to be work to be done and we can always do things differently. But it's about working with people, proactively and collectively.”

Naas in Co Kildare is the cleanest town in the country, according to latest IBAL results.

Naas finished atop the rankings for the third time in four years, ahead of five-time victor Kilkenny.

The only city deemed clean was Galway. Dublin meanwhile was judged 'littered', along with Limerick and Cork's Northside.

Neighbouring Monaghan, now in third, crept up three places in six months out of 40 towns/cities surveyed.

A fall in plastic bottles and cans on our streets, brought about by the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), was not enough to reduce overall litter levels in Ireland last year, stated IBAL in its overall assessment of the national picture.

The survey revealed a near-50% fall in the prevalence of plastic bottles and cans in the 500+ sites monitored.

Yet overall litter levels were “on a par with 12 months ago”.

On a positive note, 2024 saw a further fall in the number of sites deemed ‘litter blackspots’, which suggests that local authorities are generally more effective in tackling urban dumping and addressing sites previously highlighted by IBAL.