Dublin City Centre and the North Inner City didn't perform well in terms of litter in 2023, with both areas coming in at the bottom of the Irish Business Against Litter survey table.
For the first time in the 20 year history of the surveys, however, no area in the entire country was deemed 'seriously littered'.
Maynooth, in County Kildare, was top of the rankings of 40 towns and cities nationwide, with a litter level that was found cleaner than the European norms.
While litter levels rose slightly overall, over 60% of towns surveyed were deemed clean last year.
However, the situation in Dublin has proven to be very disappointing.
Speaking on the findings, IBAL'S Conor Horgan says:
"This is a disappointing result for Dublin and Limerick city centres, given that they both enjoyed ‘clean’ status a few years ago.”
“There are many challenges facing our Capital city, but clean streets are an important starting point on the path to recovery.”
The survey says “vast amounts of litter and domestic rubbish” were noted along Sherrard St in particular.
Coffee cups were found at over 30% of the 500+ sites surveyed.
Mr Horgan believes an coffee cup levy could contribute to a decrease in the litter we see on our streets.
“We believe this action is needed to stamp out a product which is out of step with the circular economy. Irrespective of how recyclable or compostable take-away cups are, these statistics show too many of them are ending up on our streets.”
There was another significant rise in the number of disposable vapes found, which had been previously highlighted as an emerging source of litter.
These were found in more than 10% of all sites covered.
