Big clean-up pays off as Navan overtakes Trim in litter league

Navan has significantly improved its ranking in the latest round of the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) anti-litter league and has overtaken Trim in the league for the first time. Navan moves from 40th position to 15th position, the best result for the town since the survey began in 1996. While Navan was deemed to be 'moderately littered" in the previous round, the town has now achieved 'clean to European norms" status. Trim is in 18th position, holding on to the same position from the last round and remains 'clean to European Norms". The judges" report on Navan said: 'This is Navan"s best result since the beginning of the IBAL Anti-Litter League - even getting above Trim. There were noticeable improvements at Beechmount Shopping Centre, the main shopping street and the Kells approach road - hopefully, it will get even better.' The Trim approach road, Balreask Manor, Canterbrook, Scoil Mhuire, Cllr Andy Brennan Park and the Athboy approach road were all deemed to be 'clean to European norms". Navan Town Clerk Shane Donnelly said: 'We"re absolutely delighted with the recent results from the IBAL anti-litter league. It can be put down to a number of things. One is the current street cleansing programme which has been implemented by our staff. I"d like to pay tribute to Ray Mooney, the town foreman, and staff for their concerted efforts to eradicate litter from our town.' Mr Donnelly added that, from an enforcement point of view, Navan Town Council has an environmental enforcement officer and that the council has issued 122 litter fines this year, implementing the 'polluter pays" principle. He said the council is also developing a number of awareness campaigns to promote the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' principle, to make everyone aware of the need to keep Navan clean and tidy. 'We want to ensure that Navan remains litter-free and a source of attraction and pride for visitors, businesses and members of the community. I would like to thank the business community for their efforts. This couldn"t be achieved without the partnership approach of local businesses, members of the community and the staff of Navan Town Council. I am also calling on each member of the public to keep the momentum going that we"ve built in last year and we hope to ultimately become Ireland"s cleanest town,' he said. Cllr Andy Brennan Park, which was previously a problem area, was praised and the judge commented that the site was one of the biggest improvements and that 'attractive flower beds have been accompanied by appropriate levels of cleaning/maintenance' and that, overall, it is an 'excellent site'. Scoil Mhuire was described as an 'exemplary site' and Canterbrook was also praised with the judges who commented that, clearly, local residents 'took great pride in the area'. Regarding Beechmount Shopping Centre, the report said: 'Overall there has been a huge improvement at this previously heavily littered shopping centre - it is evident that big efforts have been made. With just a little extra care and consideration, especially on behalf of smokers, this could easily get the top litter grade'. Trimgate Street was found to be moderately littered but the judges commented that 'the overall presentation of individual properties was very good' and that 'with a quick clean up, this could get the top litter grade'. The IBAL report for Trim, which finished 18th out of 55 towns and cities around Ireland, said that it was 'another very good result for Trim, though for the first time it is overtaken by Navan'. The report stated: 'All of the approach roads into Trim were very clean, tidy and fresh in appearance. There were a couple of sites with moderate levels of litter which could easily get the top litter grade, such as Market Street and the Trim Castle grounds. This site has improved considerably with the installation of cigarette butt disposal units.' The most heavily littered site was the pedestrian access between Millenium Bridge and Talbot Castle where alcohol cans and broken alcohol bottles indicate the remains of an 'outdoor drinking spot'. Sites found to be clean to European norms included the Kildalkey/Ballivor approach road, Norman Pratt Memorial Park, the Dublin approach road, the Kinnegad approach road, Emmett Street and the Athboy approach road. Regarding the Dublin approach road, the judges commented: 'A very positive impression was created of Trim by this busy approach route. The area was fresh in appearance and individual gardens/public areas were all in very good condition.' The Kinnegad approach road was described as an 'excellent approach route' into the town. The Trim Castle grounds, Market Street and Patrick Street were found to be moderately littered. However, the reports states that the castle grounds 'just missed getting the top litter grade' as there was a very small amount of litter which took away from an otherwise well-presented site.