Ballymun have taken home an unwanted title of the blackest spot for litter in the country, according to a new survey.
In results of the report, undertaken by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) and released last Monday, Ballymun ranked 40th out of 40 areas surveyed across the country due to continued littering and dumping.
“An indication of the progress we’ve made over past 5 years has been the absence of litter blackspots in our survey,” said Conor Horgan of IBAL.
“However, as the Ballymun and other results show, there has been little if any progress in disadvantaged areas of our cities. The gap between these areas and the commercial high-footfall commercial city centres is widening.”
For the report, IBAL commissioned An Taisce to conduct the study, with their report saying that a lack of ‘top ranking sites places Ballymun firmly at the bottom of the league’. An Taisce also mention that the long neglected Ballymun Shopping Centre site also has a major impact on dumping and littering in the locale also.
It read: “The site of ‘Ballymun Shopping Centre’ wasn’t just littered but subject to dumping. It has had a negative impact on sites directly beside it, resulting in further poor litter grades. Due for demolition (as reported in 2018) it will be a fresh opportunity for a new environment.”
Responding to the news, Ballymun Tidy Towns took to Facebook, saying that the community need to band together in order to tackle dumping and littering in the area, and that they need to take responsibility for the rubbish on the suburb’s streets and come together as a community.
The post said: “None of us are blind to the problem that exists in Ballymun, all you have to do is look out your window, and then there’s the people complaining about it on social media.
“But when is our community going to come together and do something about it? Where are all these people when we come out every Wednesday and do our bit? Or on National Spring Clean day?
“There are a few people that drag OUR community into reports like this, yet Ballymun is made of much better people. We need to say enough is enough- but we need to stop saying and start doing!!!
“The community that we all reminisce about is the very community we all live in – if everyone stopped saying ‘it’s not my problem’.”
Others have suggested that Dublin City Council begin to intervene in incidents of repeated dumping and littering, and introduce a frequent street cleaning service to Ballymun, or to take over control of privately owned bins once again.
Dublin City Council have been contacted for comment.
