Drogheda has maintained its “Clean to European norms” ranking and risen again in the latest IBAL (Irish Businesses Against Litter) report, which ranks towns and cities on the level of litter. Drogheda has been ranked 24 out of 40 on the list at the end of 2023 and clean to european norms having risen three places.
In 2022, Drogheda was placed 39 out of 40,officially Irelands most littered town which sparked enthusiastic responses from Drogheda officials and residents. A joint initiative called“#LookingGoodDrogheda” was piloted by a working groups made of Love Drogheda Business Improvement, Louth County Council, Tidy Towns, Chamber of Commerce, and local residents and business owners.
The response to the 2022 report has also led to the establishment of the TUS litter team, whom are dedicated to removing excess litter, removing graffiti, landscaping, painting and tending to the overall attractiveness of the town. The TUS team started with a small team of 2 people and has grown to a team of 12people. Without the combined efforts of the Looking Good Drogheda working group and the TUS team, Drogheda could not have made such a turnaround in the space of 18 months.
Love Drogheda BID CEO Trevor Connolly had this to say on the positive improvement in Drogheda’s litter ranking;
“We are happy to see the continued improvement in IBAL scoring which is a testament to the continuous work and effort that is put in across Drogheda in communities, businesses, the TUS clean up team, the local authority and all of partners across the town, this result could not be achieved without this joint up approach. Moving forward we would like to see a renewed effort in those areas that are performing poorly and maintain more sites at Grade A standard so that everyone who visits Drogheda, can do so in a clean and welcoming environment.”
In the 2022 report, Ballsgrove was particularly noted as an area of litter and unattractiveness and in response, a community mural was created by Ballsgrove Youth Club and artist Darrin Finnegan in partnership with Love Drogheda BIDs. The DRAWDA Urban Art Trail project, a joint venture between Droichead Arts centre and Love Drogheda BIDs has also added to the town’s attractiveness along with projects by the council to improve the streetscape, add flowering and planting and new and improved signage to West Street. Laneway projects, painting old walls, scrubbing railings as well as a myriad of other initiatives have all added to the latest result for Drogheda, which has seen a dramatic change in its ranking since the2022 report.
Massive congratulations to everyone who helped make this result possible. We now need to ensure that the good work is not lost and that improvements continue to be made to make Drogheda a cleaner, more attractive place to live, work and socialise. Use the hashtag #LookingGoodDroghdawhen posted on social media and be sure to share any projects big or small that you are doing to add to this positive initiative.
