- Overall litter levels stayed on a par with the previous year.
- 27 of 40 towns and cities surveyed received a clean rating.
- Limerick city centre was the only location branded littered.
- Plastic bottle and can litter reached the highest levels since the Deposit Return Scheme began.
Sligo has topped the latest IBAL litter survey rankings as Ireland cleanest town. The business group Irish Business Against Litter confirmed the result on 8 June 2026 with overall litter levels in line with the previous year. An Taisce conducted the surveys on behalf of IBAL and found 27 of the 40 towns and cities surveyed clean.
Sligo finished ahead of Monaghan and Leixlip while Waterford remained Ireland cleanest city in fourth position. Inspectors praised Sligo for its top ranking approach roads exceptionally fresh retail park and complete absence of litter in the Great War Memorial Garden. Improvements appeared in Navan Carlow and Athlone with socially disadvantaged urban areas in Dublin north inner city Cork northside Galway Ballybane and Ballymun all advancing from littered to moderately littered status.
Limerick city centre stood as the only location branded littered. Plastic bottle and can litter reached 19pc and 22pc respectively the highest levels since the Deposit Return Scheme started. Coffee cup litter also hit its highest point since 2023 while cigarette butt litter increased compared with 2025.
Conor Horgan shared “As the peak season for tourist visitors approaches we have fewer littered areas than we have had at any time in the last 25 years. If we had hoped that the DRS would see this litter disappear from our streets it is not happening.”
