Litter League judges praise appearance of central areas in Tullamore

JUDGES in the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) league have praised the appearance of central areas in Tullamore including O'Connor Square, William St and the town park.

Awarding the county town the 'Clean to European Norms' grade, the judges positioned it in 20th place out of the 40 towns and cities surveyed.

Though they described it as a “strong performance by Tullamore”, the town dropped in the ranks compared to 2021 when it came home in fourth place in the league and was deemed to be “Cleaner than European Norms”.

In their report, the judges said: “Top ranking sites included O’Connor Square / associated car parking and Tullamore Town Park – both of these were exceptionally well presented and maintained.”

“William Street was a very freshly presented shopping street with all aspects of the area surveyed in very good order.”

But they said at the other end of the scale the Bring Centre was in a very poor state and subject to significant dumping.

“Meath Lane had a variety of miscellaneous items and is well on its way to becoming a blackspot if not addressed. The opportunity to ‘separate’ waste is a very welcome addition to the town, as noted at both Columcille Street and O’Connor Square.”

The judges' full comments are as follows:

N52 Birr Approach Road: Grade A

An excellent first impression of Tullamore and this positive impression was sustained for well over half of the sites surveyed. Charleville Roundabout was in very good condition and the grass verges were litter free and well attended.

Bring Centre, Offaly Co Co: Grade D

(Canal Side Car Park on the Daingean Road) This was by far the most heavily littered site surveyed in Tullamore. It wasn’t just casually littered but there was significant dumping between the grey ‘clear glass’ recycle unit and the brick wall. Other loose items were scattered to the front of the units.

O’Connor Square & associated Car Park area: Grade A

This was a lovely site, characterised by attractive paving, steel bollards, large planter boxes, outdoor seating etc – all aspects of the street scape were freshly presented and in very good order. The street bin provides the opportunity to ‘separate’ green waste. The whole area was spotless throughout.

Meath Lane: Grade C

This site presents poorly, not just with regard to litter but heavily weeded, graffiti presence and the discarding of various miscellaneous items e.g., broken wooden pallet, builders’ rubble and general debris. This is well on its way to being a Grade D site if not tackled.

Tullamore Town Park: Grade A

A lovely town park environment which has been very attractively laid out and maintained. Paving, bollards, seating, Tullamore Town Historical Walking Tour signage, playground equipment etc. were in very good order and the entire park was spotless. There was plenty of dog fouling signage and even ‘No Smoking’ signage.

N80 Portlaoise Approach Road: Grade A

Road surface, markings and signage were in very good order. There were no visible litter items along the stretch of road surveyed.

Tullamore ByPass from Distillery Roundabout to Ballard Roundabout: Grade B

There was a mix of recent and ‘long-lie’ litter along this route, mostly food related items e.g., coffee cups, plastic bottles, mineral cans and sweet papers.

William Street: Grade A

A freshly presented shopping street with attractive paving, planter boxes, bollards, street bins with the opportunity to separate waste and some outdoor seating. It was a very clean and tidy environment.

Patrick Street: Grade A

While the paving along Patrick Street wasn’t as fresh looking like other sites in Tullamore, it didn’t detract from the litter situation. Apart from some chewing gum and cigarette butts there were no other visible litter items.

The Bridge Shopping Centre: Grade A

A freshly presented shopping centre environment with attractive paving, bollards, seating, ‘olde’ style street lamps, etc. The main shopping centre environment was very much deserving of the top litter grade. Bags of ‘Rock Salt’ had gathered to the rear of the small clothing bring facility.