The latest litter survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) shows Ballina deemed ‘Clean’, occupying 16th position in the ranking of 40 cities and towns.
It was previously 10th.
Sligo again topped the IBAL ranking making it the cleanest town in the country, followed by Monaghan and Leixlip, according to the latest IBAL litter rankings.
The survey by the business group shows a lot of progress in urban areas which were previously litter blackspots.
Ballybane in Galway has improved to ‘moderately littered’ and, for the first time, only one of the 40 cities surveyed, Limerick City, was branded as littered.
Conor Horna of IBAL spoke to Midwest News Editor Teresa about Ballina’s result as “Clean” but ranked 16th from the top, down from 10th in the previous survey…
2026 IBAL ANTI-LITTER LEAGUE
| 1 | Sligo | Cleaner than European Norms |
| 2 | Monaghan | Cleaner than European Norms |
| 3 | Leixlip | Cleaner than European Norms |
| 4 | Waterford City | Cleaner than European Norms |
| T5 | Ballinasloe | Cleaner than European Norms |
| T5 | Carrick on Shannon | Cleaner than European Norms |
| T5 | Gorey | Cleaner than European Norms |
| 8 | Cavan | Clean to European Norms |
| 9 | Killarney | Clean to European Norms |
| 10 | Roscommon | Clean to European Norms |
| T11 | Dungarvan | Clean to European Norms |
| T11 | Newbridge | Clean to European Norms |
| T11 | Swords | Clean to European Norms |
| 14 | Longford | Clean to European Norms |
| 15 | Mullingar | Clean to European Norms |
| 16 | Ballina | Clean to European Norms |
| 17 | Cork City Centre | Clean to European Norms |
| 18 | Navan | Clean to European Norms |
| 19 | Ennis | Clean to European Norms |
| 20 | Tralee | Clean to European Norms |
| 21 | Letterkenny | Clean to European Norms |
| 22 | Bray | Clean to European Norms |
| 23 | Mahon | Clean to European Norms |
| 24 | Athlone | Clean to European Norms |
| 25 | Carlow | Clean to European Norms |
| 26 | Galway City Centre | Clean to European Norms |
| 27 | Drogheda | Clean to European Norms |
| 28 | Clonmel | Moderately littered |
| 29 | Fermoy | Moderately littered |
| 30 | Kilkenny | Moderately littered |
| 31 | Cork Northside | Moderately littered |
| 32 | Galway Inner City – Ballybane | Moderately littered |
| 33 | Dundalk | Moderately littered |
| 34 | Ballymun | Moderately littered |
| 35 | Dublin City Centre | Moderately littered |
| 36 | Tallaght | Moderately littered |
| 37 | Limerick City South – Galvone | Moderately littered |
| 38 | Dublin North Inner City | Moderately littered |
| 39 | Portlaoise | Moderately littered |
| 40 | Limerick City Centre | Littered |
