Dundalk Tidy Towns responds to poor litter league results

DunDALK has been given the unwanted title of the most littered location in the country in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey. The report deemed Dundalk ‘Seriously littered’ and sees the town prop up the 40 town/city table having been as high as number 27 this time last year.

At the beginning of 2023 Dundalk had fallen to number 34 on the list and that descent has unfortunately continued with this latest report placing Dundalk at the bottom of the table.

According to the IBAL report, just one of the ten sites surveyed around the town received top marks (from junction with n52 to Welcome to Dundalk signage) while two sites were deemed litter blackspots (not just casually littered but sub- ject to dumping e.g the Clothes Recycle Bank and immediate environs on Castletown Road and the Car Park and adjacent Wasteground). A couple of sites had improved somewhat compared to previous IBAL surveys, but still had a litter presence e.g. the Recycle Facility at Tesco (R132) and the Wasteground at the corner of Maxwell and St. nicholas.

Responding to the disappointing results, the Dundalk Tidy Towns Committee stated they were very disheartened with the results and that they weren’t a reflection of all the hard work that is being done locally by volunteers.

“It was with great disappointment that we heard this morning that Dundalk has ranked last in the IBAL Anti-Litter League survey.

“Firstly we want to thank all of our wonderful volunteers who give up their time to help keep Dundalk a Tidy Town. The Committee would also like to thank Dundalk Town and the many Residents Associations across Dundalk for their tireless work maintaining their areas.

“The results of the survey are obviously disheartening and are not a reflection on the great work that happens across the town every week by council staff and contractors, volunteers and communities.

“Dundalk Tidy Towns has already written to Louth County Council this morning seeking a meeting on these results and will provide updates on our social media pages.

“In the meantime, we ask that everyone be mindful of litter in their area. Dundalk Tidy Towns is a small voluntary organisation and we rely on the help and support of the people of Dundalk in keeping the town tidy. Dundalk is a large urban area and we invite everyone to play their part. If you would like to get involved contact us here on our social media pages,” read the statement.