Anti-dumping measures put in place by council
Illegal dumping is an issue in the county

Anti-dumping measures put in place by council

A NUMBER of anti-dumping measures have been put in place by South Dublin County Council to tackle illegal dumping across the county, reports Aimee Walsh.

The emergence of litter blackspots and an increase in illegal dumping have been ongoing issues in multiple areas in South County Dublin in recent years.

In a recent report, the council have outlined the measures that have been implemented to deter the behaviour.

In the past three years, due to funding received under the Anti-Dumping Initiative (ADI), the council have removed over 26 tonnes of waste material from blackspots, diverted over 28 tonnes of waste and 2,849 mattresses from potentially being dumped as well as issued over 50 fixed penalty notices and brought 22 legal cases against those who have sought to dump material illegally.

CCTV monitoring of dumping blackspots continue to be carried out by the local authority, and several cases have been brought against individuals that will be brought to the courts this month. The council said that they hope that successful prosecutions may deter others from committing dumping offences.

Public lighting was installed during 2021 under the Anti-Dumping Initiative Programme in a “notorious blackspot” as a deterrent to people dumping there at night and to increase the quality of any CCTV images obtained in the future. Installation of covert CCTV during the months following the installation of the public lighting led to a cessation of dumping activities.

Last year, the council continued the Mattress Amnesty Scheme and had a record year with 938 mattresses collected. A pilot ‘Bulky Waste collection’ service with Recycle IT, Clondalkin, was also trialled and both of these initiatives were specifically targeted to reduce the potential for the waste to end up in Halloween bonfires.

The 2022 ADI schemes are currently being prepared for submission to the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authority this April and will again focus on the National Waste Enforcement Priorities and adhere to the key measures of prevention, abatement, education & awareness and enforcement.

At present, the council confirm that they are continuing to identify areas where CCTV can be installed in 2022, either by themselves or in conjunction with the Pure Project, to gather evidence for legal proceedings against those involved in illegal dumping.

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