A Clarecastle councillor is hopeful new laws around the monitoring of illegal dumping will “name and shame” those responsible.
New legislation has come into effect which will enable Clare County Council to use surveillance technology for illegal dumping and fly tipping.
The unwelcome sight of half-open refuse sacks and loose items of rubbish strewn across back roads and nature sites could become a less commonly-experienced phenomenon following new measures introduced by the Government.
Minister of State Ossian Smyth has signed off on new regulations which will allow local authorities to combat dumping of this nature by using CCTV, drones and other technologies.
The issue has long been a bugbear of people in this county and it’s been reported that the state spends up to €100m annually dealing with the environmental fallout of littering.
In Clare alone, 814 litter-related complaints were received by the local authority between January and August of last year with just 7% of these resulting in fines.
Dumping at popular nature and recreation sites here has long been attributed to ‘bogus collectors’ who offer to dispose of people’s rubbish for a fee only to discard it in an unauthorised location.
Sixmilebridge Fianna Fáil Councillor Alan O’Callaghan says many of these bogus collectors are coming across Clare’s southern border and believes a a conversation is needed between the two counties’ local authorities.
In a statement to Clare FM, Clare County Council says “the Local Government Management Agency are preparing the Statutory Codes of Practice in relation to the use of CCTV and other Recording Devices that local authorities will have to abide by when using these technologies to tackle illegal dumping”.
The statement continues “the Codes of Practice will then by submitted to the Minister for final approval”.
Clarecastle Fine Gael Councillor Paul Murphy, who called for the measures to be implemented at a recent meeting of Clare County Council, insists naming-and-shaming is the best way to deter illegal dumping and fly-tipping.
You can listen to the full interview below.
