Waterford regains Ireland’s Cleanest City Title

Waterford regains Ireland’s Cleanest City Title

Once again Waterford has emerged as Ireland’s Cleanest City in the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Anti-Litter League. The city ranked 8th out of 40 cities and towns and was classed as Cleaner than European norms. Waterford City continues to score very well in the IBAL anti-litter league, and according to the latest survey, “Waterford City has retained its high-ranking position and was again Ireland’s cleanest city. With so many top-ranking sites, it’s not possible to mention them all, but some stand out for various reasons.”

Most of the sites surveyed received a Grade A ranking and these, amongst others, included the Greenway Car Park, Waterford Retail Park, Plunkett Train Station, Waterford Courthouse, the Tramore Approach Road and City Square Shopping Centre. The Mall, also receiving a Grade A ranking was noted as having, “Plenty of signage indicates the historic nature and significant of many of the buildings along The Mall. There was no litter associated with the large building which was covered in scaffolding. All aspects of The Mall were in excellent order, not just very good with regards to litter but the overall presentation and maintenance of same e.g. visitor information signage/ 3D models/seating etc. and the recent restoration of 'O'Sullivan's' is a wonderful addition to the area.”

The Quays Riverwalk from The Tower Hotel to the Bridge, was also graded A, with the report stating, “some of which has been boarded up for the extensive works taking place along the river. Excellent visitor information signage close to Reginald's Tower. Large planter boxes looked very well, and the William Vincent Wallace Plaza was spotless. There was a virtual absence of litter along the remainder of the length of the riverwalk. 

The report also cited, “There was only one heavily littered site - the Bring Bank at Tesco Ardkeen.  Improvements were noted at ‘Woodpecker’ site, Apple Market Car Park and Site beside Vee Car Park.”

Ballybeg once again recorded a solid result, and despite a slight dip on previous years was classed as Clean to European norms. The report stated, “There were no litter blackspots. The residential area of Ardmore Terrace and Ballybeg Stores & Environs were much improved compared to previous IBAL surveys, just missing the top litter grade this time around.”  However, it was noted that the Ballybeg Bring Bank was not just littered but “dumped upon.”

Mayor of Waterford City and County, Cllr. Jason Murphy welcomed the IBAL league results, saying, “This is another great result for Waterford City and for Ballybeg. Consistently, the city has performed outstandingly well in the IBAL Anti-Litter League. “These results aren’t achieved by chance. It takes a dedicated Local Authority cleansing team, in tandem with an army of volunteer clean up groups, residents’ associations and community and business groups, who have the utmost pride in where they live and work.”

Ella Ryan, Environmental Awareness Officer with Waterford City and County Council added, “I would like to acknowledge the work of Waterford City and County Council, the numerous volunteer clean-up groups and the local communities for their consistent hard work which year in, year out, never fails to deliver for Waterford City.

“This collaborative approach is clearly working as Waterford has upped its ranking and attained Cleaner than European norms classification – a first for the city.”

Details of the most recent Irish Business against Litter Survey can be found at https://ibal.ie/anti-litter-league/