Dublin cleans up its act - litter levels improve significantly

LITTER LEVELS in Dublin have decreased significantly according to a new survey which found that almost 70 per cent of the city had a "high level of cleanliness" and just 4 per cent of it was significantly polluted with litter.

The survey was commissioned by the Anti Litter Partnership - an alliance of the city council, Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the Dublin City Business Association - formed last year to combat littering and illegal dumping in the city and its suburbs.

The survey used the Department of the Environment's National Litter Monitoring Pollution System which measures both the extent and the main causes of litter pollution.

Following studies of 30 locations in the city and in suburban centres including Finglas village, Drumcondra and Crumlin village, it found that 69 per cent of Dublin had a high level of cleanliness, 27 per cent had a moderate level of cleanliness, 4 per cent was significantly polluted and none of the city was grossly polluted.

This represents a significant improvement on the previous survey taken last March where only 46 per cent of areas had a high level of cleanliness, 44 per cent had a moderate level of cleanliness, 9 per cent were significantly polluted and 1 per cent was grossly polluted.

Pedestrians caused the most litter, according to the most recent survey taken last June, with 39 per cent of litter identified as having been casually dropped in the street.

Retail outlets accounted for 13 per cent of litter, followed by fastfood outlets at 12 per cent. Places of leisure or entertainment such as cinemas accounted for 11 per cent, 7 per cent of litter was found at "gathering points", 6 per cent at bus stops, 3 per cent at ATM machines, 3 per cent at bus and train stations, 3 per cent was thrown out of cars, while 2 per cent came from overflowing bins.

Assistant city manger Matt Twomey said the survey showed that the council and businesses in the city were working to improve cleanliness.

"We're delighted that the report reveals a city which has very high levels of cleanliness and points towards a huge improvement in our fight against litter."

The council had been targeting the areas needing the most attention to achieve the greatest improvement, he said.

"Specifically, we are changing the times of our cleaning programmes, installing new bins, seeking co-operation and where we have to, using our enforcement powers."

New bylaws in relation to fastfood and cigarette-related rubbish are due to be adopted by the council in October. The survey shows the cleanest areas are in the city centre, including the busy shopping areas around Grafton Street, Henry Street and O'Connell Street. Similar results were found by Ibal (Irish Business Against Litter) in its June 2008 litter survey.