Litter funding from the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Under the Litter Pollution Act, 1997, local authorities are responsible for management and enforcement responses to litter pollution. It is up to each local authority to determine the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement, and clean-up actions in relation to litter taking account of local circumstances and priorities.

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) funds a number of schemes aimed at tackling and recording litter levels in Ireland.

DCEE has been co-funding local authority anti-litter awareness and education initiatives since 1997. Local authorities are responsible for selecting suitable anti-litter awareness projects for funding and deciding on the grant allocations in individual cases. Projects/activities should seek to promote greater public awareness and education in relation to litter and graffiti and should, as far as possible, have a particular focus on voluntary initiatives by community and environmental groups, and on involving schools and young people in anti-litter and anti-graffiti action. €750,000 is available under the scheme this year.

Picker Pals is an environmental education initiative aimed at primary school children enabling children to go litter picking with their families. A picker pack is sent to each participating school containing all the necessary material as well as books and educational material. In the 2025/26 school year DCEE is providing funding to run the programme in 966 schools.

For more information, see the Picker Pals website.

Funding is provided to Wicklow County Council to fund the PURE Project - an environmental partnership initiative which unites statutory and non-statutory interests in the Wicklow/Dublin Uplands (local authorities, Coillte, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and a number of non-statutory organisations represented by the Wicklow Uplands Council) in a single endeavour to tackle the damage to the environment from littering and fly-tipping. Over 120 tonnes of litter were removed from the uplands in 2023 with over 3,500 volunteers taking part in the Pure Mile to clean up litter.

For more information, see the Pure Project website.

Established in 1996, Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) is an alliance of companies sharing a belief that continued economic prosperity – notably in the areas of tourism, food and direct foreign investment – is contingent on a clean, litter-free environment. In addition, IBAL believes all citizens have the right to a clean-living environment. DCEE provides funding for IBAL to carry out litter surveys on 40 towns and cities nationwide.

For more information, see the IBAL website.

DCEE provides funding to An Taisce to operate National Spring Clean which is Ireland's largest anti-litter campaign, rallying thousands of volunteers each year. 2025 marked 26 years of the campaign, which has seen the removal of an estimated 50,000 tonnes of litter from Irish streets, parks, and coastlines over the years, thanks to the dedication of thousands of volunteers over the years.

For more information, see the National Spring Clean website.