FERMOY JUMPS SEVEN PLACES IN ANTI LITTER LEAGUE
Fermoy has moved up seven places in the 2010 IBAL Anti Litter League to 20th having held 27th position in 2009. Carlow was declared overall winner for 2010. IBAL chairman, Dr Tom Cavanagh said that Fermoy is the most consistent town in the Irish Businesses Against Litter annual competition.
He told The Avondhu, “This is a good news story, there was no bad site to report in the town and it won’t take much effort to return Fermoy to its former winner status”.
Dr Cavanagh continued to say that the league has had a great affect on litter leagues in Ireland since it started in 2002.
“We held a meeting of all the local authorities in Dublin this week and remarkable enthusiasm was shown. We decided we will send a questionnaire to all local authorities for suggestions on how to improve, and I am hoping that Fermoy Town Council will play its part.”
AN OUTRIGHT WIN
Fermoy town councillor and chairman of the Fermoy Tidy Towns committee John Murphy responded to the results by claiming that Fermoy can win the competition next year.
“There are constraints on overtime so council workers can only clean the town once at the weekends. I have to commend the work they are doing. It is fantastic.
"However, we will have to look at re-organising again and hold inter street leagues, get volunteers and the schools involved. I spoke with the Mayor of Carlow at the event and he told me that they are using the same programme that Fermoy adopted when we won it. We need to re - organise and we will win it again.”
AREA BY AREA
The breakdown of the results for Fermoy (All 10 areas within Fermoy that were surveyed were judged to be clean to European norms) are as follows: Town Park / Playground - grade A. This was an excellent site. The town park has been very well cared for by those responsible for the maintenance and respected by the users. The overall impression created was superb. O’Neill Crowley Quay - grade A.
Another top ranking site in Fermoy - clear of litter and well maintained. Mallow approach road - grade A. This route into Fermoy created a positive first impression of the town - there was a virtual absence of litter and it was well maintained. Carrig Close - grade A. A quiet residential area off the left of the Dublin Road - it was found to be a well maintained and clear of litter.
Dublin approach road - grade B. As with so many of the grade B sites in Fermoy not much effort is required for it to become a top ranking site - some loose sweet papers and cigarette butts/chewing gum prevented it getting the top litter grade. Cork approach road - grade B.
The roadworks taking place along this stretch of road certainly contributed to the volume of litter. Plastic ties on poles (a new feature for IBAL 2010) were also noted.
Tallow approach road - grade B. This would have been a very good site if it wasn’t for the litter found along a fenced off bramble area on the right hand side, leading out of the town. The fence itself was in poor repair. There was a virtual absence of litter along the supermarket green which runs along this route.
Ashe Quay - grade B. The paving, benches, trees etc. along this river walk were in very good condition - loose litter took away from an otherwise very good site.
Kevin Barry car park - grade B. Most of the litter at this site was at the entrance to the car park, along the verge and near the pay stations. There were also some beer cans behind a wall in the car park. The recycle facility was somewhat untidy.
MacCurtain Street - grade B. Not much effort is required for this street to get the top litter grade - a small amount of litter took away from an otherwise clean site.
39 TOWNS LITTER FREE
Of the 53 towns surveyed by IBAL, 39, or 74%, were judged litter-free, a record percentage since the league began in 2002, when only two towns were litter-free. No town was classed as a litter blackspot, with Portlaoise the only town to receive a ‘seriously littered’ grading.
Our two biggest cities fared poorly with Cork falling to second from bottom, and Dublin in a lowly 50th position. Speaking to local authority representatives at the ceremony, Dr Tom Cavanagh said that IBAL had proposed a number of measures to government to tackle litter in the main urban centres, but that these had ‘fallen on deaf ears’.
“We had hoped for some meaningful measures from Minister Gormley in 2010 but none has been delivered,” he said. IBAL is seeking cleaning schedules for national routes, as occurs in Northern Ireland.
It is also proposing that within the €45m which the National Roads Authority allocates to local authorities, a defined amount is set aside specifically for cleaning up litter.
Published:
Thursday 13th January 5:58pm
