Sweet papers the most common litter, as cities get dirtier
A new rural-urban divide is emerging as Ireland's towns are getting cleaner while our cities are getting dirtier.
A survey by the group Irish Business against Litter found that parts of Dublin, Cork and Limerick are at the bottom of the table of cleanliness.
However, three quarters of towns and cities were found to be as clean as or cleaner than their European counterparts.
Kilkenny and Cavan were once again Ireland's cleanest towns, followed by Killarney, Tramore and Longford, and were among 18 towns to be deemed cleaner than the European average.
The survey found that sweet papers were by far the most common form of litter, followed by cigarette butts, fast food wrappers and chewing gum.
IBAL says the work of residents' associations and tidy towns groups helps off-set the lack of resources available to local authorities in many towns. These groups are often not active in cities.
