Published: Wednesday, 25th August, 2010 5:00pm

Survey finds Athlone has a litter problem

Athlone was this week ranked 48th out of 53 towns in the litter stakes by IBAL (Irish Businesses Against Litter). The town was branded as 'littered' in the latest league.

Only two of the sites surveyed by IBAL were considered Clean to European Norms - Castle Street and what IBAL refers to as Main Street, presumably Church Street.

IBAL judges were critical of the enforcement of litter laws, pointing out that the most heavily littered spot was a carpark attached to a pub and saying there were heavy levels of alcohol and food-related litter.

"The Litter Act is not being enforced," the report stated.

IBAL was once again critical of the approach roads into the town, pointing out that the five approach routes were all littered, mostly with food related litter.

The An Taisce report also pointed out that the level of litter at some of the moderately littered sites was such that it could easily become a serious litter problem. IBAL surveyed ten sites, two of which were considered clean to European norms, once of which had a serious litter problem and seven of which were considered moderately littered. Nearby towns Longford, Tullamore and Ballinasloe all featured much better than Athlone, with all three towns considered clean to European norms.

Longford was listed as the second cleanest town out of 53, with Tullamore ranked in 23rd place and Ballinasloe in 25th.

Although Roscommon was considered moderately littered, it was still ahead of Athlone, ranked in 34th place. Wexford was the cleanest town in the country, according to IBAL, while Tallaght was ranked the worst out of the 53 towns.

Chairman of IBAL Dr Tom Cavanagh said: "While the drop in the number of litter-free towns is a disappointment, the overall result here is positive. The average score of all the towns surveyed is now closer than ever to the European average."

According to IBAL, the loss of litter-free status was caused in most cases by the neglect by county councils of approach roads, among them key entry points to airports and seaports.

Unlike roads in urban areas, these are not subject to a cleaning schedule.

"Primary routes at the entrances to our main cities and ring roads are often heavily littered, and cleaning is infrequent and inconsistent," says Dr Cavanagh.

Tidy Towns chairman John Butler has said this week that he is happy with how Athlone looks and the job the committee has done.

He was critical of IBAL for publishing its report this week six months after it carried out its inspection.

"That inspection was carried out in February. The Tidy Towns didn't commence until March 29. The town is looking well. I'm happy with the job we've done. It (the report) doesn't reflect the town at present.

I don't see much sense in carrying out an inspection in February and publishing it in August," said Mr Butler.