A litter survey of 60 sites throughout the city and county has resulted in a setback for Waterford's hopes of achieving litter-free status by next year. The Irish Business Against Litter Organisation (IBAL) has offered to fund a £1 million factory for Waterford if it can attain, by next May, endorsement as Ireland's first litter-free county, as assessed by stringent criteria and independent monitoring.
However, in the second of three outdoor litter surveys carried out by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL, the points for both city and county on a "cleanliness rating" scoreboard dropped significantly. The survey took place on the weekend of November 22nd.
Four sites - two in Waterford City and one each in Portlaw and Tramore in the county - were graded as D for the first time, a rating which indicates "significant accumulation of litter". The town of Lismore, which was rated 100 per cent free of litter in the first survey last August, slipped back to 78 per cent.
The overall cleanliness rating for the city and county fell by three points from 79 to 76. Commenting on the outcome, An Taisce said there was no doubt that the results had been affected by the fact that this most recent survey concentrated on the weekend litter situation.
Waterford County Council was unaware that the litter survey was to be undertaken that weekend. The council's estimates for 1998, published recently, have allocated £129,100 for litter control, including the cost of two anti-litter supervisors and additional cleaning-up activities.
An Taisce, which also conducts an inspection process under the Blue Flag beach monitoring scheme, was commissioned by IBAL to independently evaluate the level of litter in Co Waterford during the campaign period.