Minister of State for Climate, Energy and the Environment, with responsibility for the Circular Economy, Alan Dillon, on the 18th of September, announced the publication of the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System (NLPMS) results for 2024. The System was developed by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and TOBIN 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 on the national picture regarding litter pollution.
The 2024 NLPMS Report was prepared by TOBIN in our role as the Litter Monitoring Body. The 2024 NLPMS results can be summarised as follows:
- The percentage of unpolluted (LPI 1) areas in 2024 was 19.2%.
- The percentage of slightly polluted (LPI 2) areas in 2024 was 59.8%.
- The percentage of moderately polluted (LPI 3) areas in 2024 was 17.4%.
- The percentage of significantly polluted (LPI 4) areas in 2024 was 3%.
- The percentage of grossly polluted areas (LPI 5) in 2024 was 0.6%.
Cigarette related litter (49.5%), packaging items (19%), food related litter (8.7%) and sweet related litter (8.1%) were the main litter constituents identified nationally.
Passing pedestrians (39.4%), passing motorists (20.2%), retail outlets (9%) and gathering points (7.2%) were identified as the main causative factors of litter nationally.
The 2024 NLPMS Report is available at: www.litter.ie
For more information on the NLPMS please contact Oonagh Fleming (oonagh.fleming@tobin.ie) or Brian Mc Donnell (brian.mcdonnell@tobin.ie).
