
Roscommon town scores well in litter survey despite increased dumping at local wasteland
Recording its best performance 'in a number of years', seven surveyed sites in the county town recorded the highest possible ranking.
These include Roscommon GAA's home grounds in King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park, Main Street and The Square.
The N61, N63 Approach, N63 Galway Approach Road and the 'absolutely spotless' Aldi deposit return scheme also received Grade A rankings.
The latest IBAL survey makes Roscommon town 'clean to European norms'.
In their report, An Taisce surveyors said the laneway between Fire Station and Circle K was 'a much-improved area compared to a couple of years ago, with much of the large pieces of metal waste and old sofas removed'.
'The installation of a gate appears to be having the desired effect i.e. preventing access. Litter items this time around were much smaller in nature e.g. fast-food wrappers and plastic bags, along with a sort of metal canister,' they stated.
Surveyors expressed concern about the level of dumping at the waste land adjacent to recycle facility, which received Grade D.
Roscommon County Council have told An Taisce that the site is 'beyond their remit' and have attempted to contact the owner of the site.
'While this site has been highlighted in many previous IBAL surveys, the level of dumping appears to be increasing. All manner and vast quantities of materials have been dumped upon a vast expanse of wasteland,' the IBAL report on Roscommon town stated.
Described as 'moderately littered' in an IBAL survey in June 2024, Roscommon town has risen from 27th place to 23rd out of 40 towns since the last IBAL survey was published in January.
The results of the latest report have been welcomed by Roscommon Tidy Towns.
In 2024, the town was awarded Ireland's Best Kept Large Town award in the all-island, Best Kept Town Competition.

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