On the 30th September 2020, Minister Eamon Ryan published the 2019 National Litter Pollution Monitoring System (NLPMS) Report. The System was developed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and TOBIN Consulting Engineers in consultation with local authorities. Under the System, local authorities carry out surveys to determine the extent, composition and causes of litter pollution in their areas. The data obtained from the System enables local authorities to provide more effective litter management planning for their areas, to assess the effectiveness of their litter management strategies and to ensure the optimum allocation of its resources to tackle litter. It provides vital information to DECC on the national picture regarding litter pollution.
The 2019 NLPMS Report was prepared by TOBIN Consulting Engineers in our role as the Litter Monitoring Body. The 2019 NLPMS results can be summarised as follows:
- The percentage of unpolluted (LPI 1) areas in 2019 was 17.3%.
- The percentage of slightly polluted (LPI 2) areas in 2019 was 61.7%.
- The percentage of moderately polluted (LPI 3) areas in 2019 was 18.0%.
- The percentage of significantly polluted (LPI 4) areas in 2019 was 2.7%.
- The percentage of Grossly polluted areas (LPI 5) in 2019 was 0.3%.
- There has been an increase in litter pollution nationally from 2018 to 2019.
Cigarette related litter (53.9%), packaging items (14.9%), food related litter (12.3%) and sweet related litter (9.4%) were the main litter constituents identified nationally.
Passing pedestrians (41.1%), passing motorists (22.8%), retail outlets (8.9%) and gathering points (6.2%) were identified as the main causative factors of litter nationally.
On the 30th of September, 2020 Minister @EamonRyan published the 2019 #NLPMSReport.
The System was developed by the @Dept_CCAE and #TeamTOBIN in consultation with local authorities.#environment #pollution @RTEbusiness pic.twitter.com/JpTTooSCRA
— TOBIN Engineers (@tobinengineers) October 2, 2020
The 2019 NLPMS Report is available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/5a64c-national-litter-pollution-monitoring-scheme/
For more information on the NLPMS please contact TOBIN’s Project Manager Allison Murphy (allison.murphy@tobin.ie)
