Mallow shows clean pair of heels to litter
MALLOW has been lauded for its “strong performance” by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) judges after the town finished in a creditable joint 22nd spot on its final 2017 anti-litter league table.
Described as being ‘ littered” on its previous appearance on the final table for 2011, when it came in 40th position, the town has now has the designation of being ‘Clean to European Norms’, with six of the ten areas surveyed by judges being awarded top grades.
The N72 Navigation Rd, Mallow Railway Station and Thomas Davis Square came in for particular praise from competition judges.
The only major blot on the landscape was Tip O’Neill Park, which was described by IBAL as being ‘ heavily littered’.
FOLLOWING its inclusion last year’s Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Anti-Litter League for the first time since 2011, the town of Mallow has finished in a creditable joint 22nd place on the final table for 2017.
While the town has slipped down by three places on its standing on last September’s table, its latest standing is a considerable improvement on its final 2011 position when the town finished the year in 40th position and was labelled by competition judges as being “littered”.
Mallow’s final 2017 position has once again shown the hard work undertaken locally by groups including Mallow Tidy Towns and Cork County Council over the intervening years has paid dividends, with the town retaining the coveted ‘Clean to European Norms’ designation it received three months ago.
Of the four areas in Cork included on the latests rankings only Cork City in 21st place finished above Mallow, with Mahon finishing in 35th place with a “Moderately Littered” designation and a “Littered” Cork North City finishing in 36th out of 40 areas surveyed.
The team of An Taisce judges that surveyed Mallow on behalf of IBAL praised the overall strong performance by the town, which saw six of the 10 areas around the town they visited receiving the top ‘Grade A’ status, three areas given ‘Grade B’ status and one (Tip O’Neill Park) branded ‘Grade C’.
“This was a strong performance by Mallow, with one heavily littered site letting the town down,” read the judges citation.
The panel said the N72 Navigation Road “presented well” creating a “clean and bright impression of the town. Mallow Train Station, The Mallow Community Campus/Family Resource Centre and Thomas Davis Square also came in for special mention, with judges saying the latter looked “very well” following the recent renewal of the area.
“With a little care and attention, Lidl could easily get a higher grade – it was let down by a variety of food related litter in the trolley bay and cigarette butts at the shop entrance,” said the judges.
“The most heavily littered site surveyed in Mallow was at Tip O’Neill Park. The presence of such high levels of litter takes away from the excellent paving, seats and bins,” they added.
Overall, the results of the 2017 IBAL survey saw falls in the prevalence of fast food wrappers, plastic bottles and dog fouling. However, chewing gums, cigarette butts and cans continue to be major sources of litter.
In general, the survey identified an increase in letter levels along road connecting towns, with the majority, including the Cork-Mallow Road, described as being ‘Moderately Littered’.
Niall O’Keeffe, the chair of Mallow Tidy Towns, said he was very pleased with the towns final standings on the IBAL table for 2017.
“It is a reflection of the hard work done by all stakeholders including County Council, the Avondhu/Blackwater Partnership through their Tús workers and the Tidy Towns volunteers who give up their time on a regular basis,” said Mr O’Keeffe.
“Hopefully, this showing will encourage more people to show a greater pride in their town and join us in helping make a difference to Mallow and its environs.”
Mr O’Keeffe said that Mallow Tidy Towns had already put in place a concerted plan of action for 2018, with the target of winning a medal in the national Tidy Towns competition.
“The comments of the IBAL judges have been hugely encouraging and while there is much work still to be done, particularly in the areas of biodiversity and waste management, we do not feel this target is in any way out of reach,” he said.
“I also believe that with groups working together in the way that they have, there is no reason why we could not climb further up the IBAL table in 2018.”