Trim Town Council foreman Anthony Conlon with outdoor staff Barney Carroll, Robert Bradley (in truck) and Willie Whyte have been praised for their litter containment efforts in the town.

Town pipped at post in national litter survey

Trim narrowly missed out on being named as Ireland's tidiest town after being pipped at the post by Carlow in the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Anti-litter League. Of the 53 towns surveyed in the country, Trim finished in second place with all 10 sites in the town surveyed achieving the top grade. The adjudicators commented that it was a superb result for Trim and praised the town for the attention given to the approach roads. Boyne Community School was complimented on being the best secondary school surveyed in the country and the judge commented that the Lidl supermarket was a “spotless site†and that staff were “clearly very attentiveâ€. They added: “What sets Trim and other top-ranking towns apart is not just the lack of litter but the overall presentation and maintenance of the environment.†Trim Town Council cathaoirleach Cllr Trevor Golden said: “I congratulate the outdoor staff, Trim Tidy Towns, the residents' associations, the Chamber of Commerce and the traders for the keeping the town so well. It is another consistent performance for Trim and long may it continue. It is very important for tourism in the town.†Town Clerk Brian Murphy said: “It is great for the town and a credit to town foreman Tony Conlon and the outdoor staff and the voluntary efforts of the Tidy Towns to keep the town looking well and litter-free.†Mr Murphy said it is the ninth year in a row that Trim has been clean to European norms and the fourth year in a row that they have been in the top 10. However, this is Trim's highest ranking in the competition - its next best performance was coming fourth in 2007. “According to Dr Cavanagh, we were just pipped at the post. He said there was only a hare's breath between us and Carlow,†added Mr Murphy. However, the report for Navan was not as positive with the town losing its litter-free status. Navan was deemed to be 'moderately littered' and finished in 45th position of the 53 towns surveyed. In their report for IBAL, the An Taisce judge said: “With just four clean sites surveyed in Navan, it has come very much at the bottom quarter of IBAL Anti-Litter League. The two most heavily littered sites surveyed in Navan were approach roads – the R147 Dublin and the N3 Kells Road. Unless these approach roads are maintained, Navan will not move up the table. Much of the litter along this routes lurked in the shrubbery area, covered by undergrowth.†Just four sites achieved the top litter grade: St Patrick's Classical School, Trimgate Street, the area between Dean Cogan Place and Boreen Keel and the Athboy approach road. The judge found an obvious litter presence at Brews Hill with “a variety of litter strewn about, all of which was food related-cans, glass bottles, sweet papers and plastic bottlesâ€. Cigarettes butts and chewing gum were also present and it was noted that there were no cigarette butt disposal facilities. IBAL is inviting citizens to submit photos of litter blackspots in Meath as part of a 'litter twitter' campaign to alert local authorities to litter-ridden areas. Photos can be emailed to litterspotter.2010@twitpic.com and IBAL can be followed at twitter.com/litterspotter. “We'll be forwarding pictures on to local authorities and pressing them to address these blackspots,†said Dr Tom Cavanagh of IBAL.