Illegal dumping costs council over €1m a year
By Maurice Garvey
ILLEGAL dumping is costing Dublin City Council over €1m every year, and Covid also led to an increase in complaints in the Dublin South Central area.
A Dublin City Council spokesperson told The Echo they received 1,623 service requests in 2019 in relation to illegal dumping in South Central but this increased to 1,931 service requests in 2020.
Covid has led to an increase in complaints with the council
During the first lockdown in 2020, there was an estimated 25 per cent upsurge in illegal dumping in South Central.
The city council say the onset of Covid restrictions from March 2020 “posed some challenges” but departments and external contractors managed to “devise successful operational strategies to provide essential services”.
Many community groups and individuals were acknowledged by the council for showing “phenomenal community spirit through socially distant clean-ups planting and environmental initiatives.”
The cost in 2019 to the city council for collecting and disposing illegal waste was €1,170,728.
Cllr Daithí Doolan (SF), said this is a “serious strain on already over stretched resources” and a massive increase of €174,065 since 2016.
“The council needs to take serious action against those involved in illegal dumping. Fines totaling €257,430 were issued since 2018. This is a drop in the ocean. Even these fines are simply not being paid with €144,150 still outstanding.
“Over €4m has been spent in cleaning up illegal dumping since 2016. This money would be better spent on city council services. It would cover the cost of 146 extra youth workers or 107 librarians or 141 cleansing staff.”
An all-party group met last week to look at taking back in charge household waste for the city.
The city council have previously stated that it would cost €29 million per year to take back in charge a service that was privatised in 2012.
Cllr Tina McVeigh, who prompted the council to draft a response to her motion in 2019, has said the local authority are still paying money for waste management – just that they are paying costs to dispose of illegal waste.
The all-party committee, which consists of councillors, trade unions and council staff, met last Thursday.
Cllr Doolan, who chairs the all-party committee, said they have to prove they can take waste management back under control and it will also require a change in legislation.
“At the moment Dublin City Council is prohibited from tendering (for waste services). Illegal dumping has increased year-on-year. If there is dumping on private green space in an estate, The city council cannot collect it. I ring Dublin City Council, then they have to contact the private contractor, it is bonkers.”
With regard to people who are involved in illegal dumping, Cllr Doolan believes they should be “vigorously pursued through the courts and forced to cover the costs.”
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