The first assessment of the Anti-Litter league this year, carried out by Irish Business Against Litter, names six Irish towns as litter blackspots, far below European cleanliness standards.
Tullamore has been named the dirtiest town with Dundalk, Galway, Tallaght, Castlebar and Sligo following closely behind.
In a special study conducted in Swords in North County Dublin, the smoking ban appears to be leading to an increase in butts on our streets, with a rise of 20% of cigarette buts in the area since the ban was introduced.
But it is not all bad news, eight towns achieved litter free status, with Fermoy topping the league as the cleanest town surveyed in the country.
Dublin City improved to a moderate litter rating, however the results show no improvement on cities overall.
