Waterford is Ireland’s cleanest city.
The latest litter survey by Irish Business Against Litter shows that the city is Cleaner than European Norms.
Waterford is in 11th position in the ranking of 40 towns and cities, while Ballybeg has climbed to 10th.
An Taisce assess litter levels in 40 towns and cities on behalf of IBAL
The An Taisce report for Waterford City stated: “Once again Waterford leads the way as the cleanest city in Ireland. Three quarters of sites surveyed were clear of litter and there was only one heavily littered area – the exterior of Waterford Bus Station. By contrast, the Train Station presents exceptionally well for anybody arriving at the station; Barronstrand was a very nicely presented city centre shopping environment with tress and lovely seating; the People’s Park was in very good order and scored well considering the high levels of activity on the day of the IBAL survey; Waterford’s Cultural and Heritage Quarter is a wonderfully laid out environment which flows seamlessly from one historic site to another – it was pristine throughout. Other top ranking sites included City Square Shopping Centre, Waterford Institute of Technology and all approach roads leading to the city.”
The report for Ballybeg stated: “A superb result for Ballybeg, improving on last year’s fine ranking. Top ranking sites in Ballybeg included IDA Waterford, St. Saviours GAA Club and Tesco – the latter was an expansive site and was exceptionally freshly presented and maintained. The residential areas of Clonard and Ballybeg also scored very well. The one heavily littered area, a derelict site at Ardmore Park, continues to suffer abuse – it wasn’t just casually littered but vehicles and bicycles had been discarded.
Nationally, Tullamore topped the rankings, followed by Dublin Airport Environs and Leixlip. Once again there was a wide gap between towns and disadvantaged city areas, with the latter occupying the bottom 6 places in the ranking.
"In the 16 years we have been conducting these surveys, this is possibly our best result,” says Conor Horgan of IBAL. “Across the board we have seen improvements. The news is all the more positive given the importance of how we present our country over the summer months, when we attract over 40% of our visitors.”
