Kildare town is announced as cleanest town in all of Ireland
Kildare is now officially the cleanest town in Ireland. The announcement was made at the Finale of the 2016 Anti-Litter League by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin today. Kildare finished ahead of Roscommon and Ashbourne, with Waterford City in fourth. A special public sculpture will be commissioned for the town to mark the achievement.
70% of the 40 towns and cities surveyed in 2016 were at least as clean as their European equivalents, a decrease on the previous year. There were again no litter blackspots, though only 40% of city areas surveyed were clean. It was the first time in a number of years that Kildare town had been included in the IBAL programme.
An Taisce, which conducts the surveys on behalf of IBAL, commented in its report on Kildare: “It is rare to find a town in such spotless condition throughout. The Link Road and both approach roads into Kildare Town got the top litter grade and this high standard was sustained for all sites surveyed.”
Congratulating Kildare, Conor Horgan of IBAL announced that once again a foremost artist would be commissioned in conjunction with the community at large to create a significant public sculpture in the town in recognition of its success. “Each year IBAL intends to mark the winning town’s achievement with a permanent piece of art that will enhance the local environment.”
The top five towns in last year’s league – Kildare, Roscommon, Ashbourne, Waterford and Thurles - will all receive an Emperor Lime tree courtesy of the Irish Tree Centre in Cork.
This year’s IBAL results again illustrated how dumping is at the heart of Ireland’s litter problem, with 60% of those sites deemed “heavily littered” showing evidence of dumping.
Mr Horgan said:“While litter levels have decreased over the past decade, dumping appears to be on the rise.”
He said: “The problem is becoming less about cleaning up after kids have dropped sweet papers on the main street. It’s about people deliberately and covertly evading bin charges by illegally disposing of their rubbish on wasteland or derelict sites, which then become magnets for all sorts of litter. Dumping needs to be higher on the political agenda, as it’s an issue that really matters to people, and to our economy.”
Allan Shine, CEO of North Kildare Chamber this afternoon congratulated Kildare Town on winning the overall award and in particular congratulated both Kildare County Council and the voluntary groups concerned who ensure that the town is always a litter-free town which of course is important in attracting tourists and shoppers into the town.