Westport ranks third cleanest town in Ireland as volunteer clean up groups work to combat cigarette litter
Westport has been ranked the third cleanest town in Ireland and is described as being “cleaner than European norms” in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) report. However, discarded cigarette butts were identified as an area in need of improvement.
The annual IBAL survey assessed litter levels across 40 towns nationwide. Sligo was ranked first, and Leixlip came in second.
In Westport, eight of the ten locations surveyed achieved the top Grade A status, with the remaining two sites receiving a B+.
Eithne Larkin, chair of Westport Tidy Towns, welcomed the strong result and said it reflected a year-round effort by volunteers and the wider community.
She acknowledged that litter from cigarette butts remains a known and ongoing challenge.
“My first reaction was well done Sligo, they have been working really hard over the last number of years, so it is great to see their work being recognised,” she said.
“We are very pleased to be third in the country, to be up there in the top five is very notable and worthy, we are delighted with that.”
One of the two locations to receive a B+ was Bridge Street, where cigarette butts, fast-food wrappers and sweet papers prevented the area from achieving the top grade.
“We talk about cigarette butts at every meeting,” Ms Larkin said, “We have a few new ideas coming in place for spring and early summer time - but it all comes down to individual responsibility.”
“The fact that Bridge Street didn’t make the mark is disappointing. I have no doubt it is disappointing for the retailers who work hard to keep their premises looking well,
“But it is a nod to the smokers - it was not a surprise for me this morning to hear there were excessive cigarette butts on Bridge Street,” she said.
Ms Larkin said responsibility lies not only with volunteers and local authorities, but with individuals and businesses alike.
She encouraged smokers to dispose of cigarette butts responsibly and urged businesses and publicans to ensure cigarette bins are provided and regularly emptied in areas where people tend to congregate.
Despite the challenge posed by cigarette litter, the IBAL report highlighted many positive developments, including the Deposit Return Scheme facility at Tesco, which was described as a “spotless in-store facility”.
Ms Larkin said the scheme has led to a noticeable reduction in plastic bottle and can litter, with volunteers reporting that they are now collecting far fewer of these items.
However, she said a new issue has emerged, particularly after nights out, with plastic cup litter becoming more common.
“One of our concerns we noticed over Christmas and New Year in particular is a proliferation of plastic glasses from publicans,
“[People] are not allowed to bring glass out onto the street; they can bring their drink in a plastic glass, but they are not allowed to bring their plastic glass from one pub into the next pub,
“The obvious thing to do seems to be to throw it on the street. It caused a huge problem with litter over Christmas. It solves one problem in not having broken glass on the street, but the upshot of that is the [litter] problem it created,” she said.
She said Westport Tidy Towns plans to work with local publicans to try to reduce the problem.
“We work very well with the publicans in Westport, and we will be addressing that with them to see what we can do together,” she said.
For Ms Larkin, the IBAL ranking highlights the community effort in Westport, though cigarette butts are a problem that Tidy Towns is working to address.
“We don't have a Tidy Towns meeting where we don’t talk about cigarette butts. It’s nothing new for us, but it is nice to see our efforts are making a difference,” she said.
She also extended her thanks to those who help keep Westport clean, whether through organised groups or individual efforts.
“First of all, to those who don’t litter, the people who care about Westport - and also to the people who go out unknown to pick litter, and to the volunteers and our committee who work so hard year round,” she said.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.