Three towns are in contention for the title of cleanest in Ireland at the Irish Business Against Litter awards, to be announced today.
Cavan town, Fermoy, Co Cork, and Dundalk, Co Louth, were judged the tidiest of 50 Irish towns and cities in Ibal's 2007 survey, carried out by An Taisce.
Tallaght in west Dublin, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, and Sligo town were rated the dirtiest, with Sligo taking the title of worst litter blackspot.
Irish Business Against Litter is an alliance of companies which argues that continued economic prosperity is contingent on a clean, litter-free environment.
Tallaght's poor performance was particularly disappointing and could jeopardise business investment in the area, IBAL chairman Tom Cavanagh said.
"Given its social and economic importance, Tallaght is a significant blot on a landscape that is for the most part showing great improvement. This rise in litter levels may ultimately threaten business investment in the area. More fundamentally, the people of Tallaght are being deprived of their right to a clean environment," he said.
In its survey An Taisce found no cleaning or maintenance taking place in the busiest areas of Tallaght. Mr Cavanagh also cited the loss of community spirit as a factor in its litter problem.
"Tallaght's litter issue is in some ways a by-product of bad town planning here. Pride in one's locality, which is a key driver of well maintained environs, suffers when tightly-knit communities are replaced by vast urban sprawls," he said.
He praised Kildare towns, which he said had improved after their appearance on IBAL's "name and shame" list in previous years. "IBAL have been critical of Kildare's towns. It is encouraging to see how they have responded in tackling the serious litter problem that blighted their area."
Fast-food litter increased by 30 per cent last year and was found in almost half the towns surveyed. "This is one of the most unsightly forms of litter, as it tends to be very conspicuous and greasy," Mr Cavanagh said.
The Government had a major role to play in improving the litter problem, he said, particularly in terms of fast-food waste.
"The answer lies in the Minister for the Environment enforcing the Litter Act, which requires businesses to keep the area around their premises free of litter at all times."
IBAL wants a review of the number of litter wardens and penalty points introduced for motorists who throw litter from cars.
LITTER RANKING: HOW THEY STAND
TOP THREE TIDIEST (yet to be placed):Cavan, Fermoy, Dundalk
LITTER-FREE TOWNS:Trim, Killarney, Monaghan, Carlow, Galway City, Youghal, Bray, Letterkenny, Ballina, Naas, Roscommon, Thurles, Drogheda, Athy, Waterford City, Midleton, Wexford, Arklow, Castlebar
MODERATELY LITTERED:Swords, Ballinasloe, Maynooth, Kilkenny, Greystones, Tralee, Portlaoise, Gorey, Ennis, Leixlip, Longford, Limerick City, Cobh, Clonmel
LITTERED:Dungarvan, Wicklow, Tullamore, Mullingar, Newbridge, Navan
SERIOUSLY LITTERED:Athlone, Dún Laoghaire, Cork City, Enniscorthy
BLACKSPOTS:Mallow, Tallaght, Nenagh, Sligo
Dublin city is not surveyed as it will be ranked against European capitals later this year
