‘Screen grabs’ of fly-tipping offenders may soon go on-line
IMAGES of fly-tipping offenders could soon be published online by South Dublin County Council, under updated waste bye-laws.
The images would be used by local authority, in seeking the public's assistance to identify habitual dumping offenders.
Independent Councillor Gus O'Connell says data protection prevents a “naming and shaming “ approach, but “screen grabs” of offenders from CCTV footage, could prove decisive.
Cllr O’Connell said: “There are three chronic fly-tipping areas in Palmerstown-Lucan, laneways in Palmerstown, Tandy’s Lane and the R120 on Newcastle Road West.
“Camouflaged CCTV has caught offenders in the mountains. Residents have said they would be in favour of allowing CCTV to be used on their houses for the same reason. I’m in favour of the carrot and the stick approach, where the CCTV is rotated around to different locations with severe dumping.”
The council are looking at options to address illegal dumping in the county, in tandem with the development of a new litter plan.
A SDCC spokesperson said: “it is proving difficult to obtain evidence in relation to the identity of polluters, as identifying information is generally removed or shredded.
“We continue to encourage residents and the public at large to support the council in efforts to identify alleged polluters, and to provide the necessary information to allow appropriate enforcement action to be taken.”
Objectives for the Litter Management Plan will focus on how the council will approach litter over the next three years, including the potential use of innovative environmental monitoring solutions such as CCTV.
“A number of factors must be taken into consideration when assessing a location for suitability for CCTV, including the extent of the problem, access to an electricity source, local topography and the availability of financial resources,” said the spokesperson.