Ennis is again “Clean to European Norms”, in 23rd position of the 40 areas surveyed, the latest survey by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) has revealed.
Ennis was previously in 33rd spot. In all, 75% of towns and cities were found to be as clean as or cleaner than their European counterparts.
Kilkenny and Cavan were once again Ireland’s cleanest towns, and were among 18 towns to be deemed cleaner than the European average.
An Taisce reported: “Ennis has retained its Clean to European norms status with another mid-ranking result. It would be nice to see this town push on to a higher position in the table.
The top ranking sites in Ennis were not just clear of litter but well presented and maintained e.g. Clare Leisure World, Garden of Remembrance and Recycle Facility at Ennis Shopping Centre.
A Clare County Council Recycle Bank at Leisure Facility was moderately littered.
The Mill Road River Walk was seriously littered – many different aspects of this site were in poor shape.
For the first time, IBAL inspected the cleanliness of connecting routes between towns, which were found to be typically more littered than the towns themselves. An Taisce reported ”scattered litter consistently along the Ennis to Galway road. No one area was noticeably worse than another. While the litter was not heavy, it was certainly visible.”
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.