Council have to 'crack down on' littering at local beauty spots

A member of the public has called on the council to crack down on people who leave their rubbish behind at the diving board at Portnashangan and other lakeside amenity areas this summer.

Large groups of people spent the weekend at the diving boards enjoying the summer weather – however, not for the first time, council staff were left with a significant clean-up operation each morning.

One of the many local people who regularly swim at the diving boards contacted the Westmeath Examiner today, Monday, to call on the council to do everything in its power to ensure that this does not become a regular occurrence again this summer.

He said that the local authority should look at installing solar powered CCTV at the popular site in a bid to deter people from leaving rubbish behind.

“Technology is available that could have an influence on behaviour change in relation to littering at beauty spots in Westmeath. We have, I think, resolved a GDPR issue to utilise CCTV to identify people who litter at these beauty spots.

“They are the jewels in the crown of Westmeath’s tourism attractions and natural amenities. What we should do through the council is deploy this technology and have proper enforcement by the litter wardens.

“It is an ongoing saga for regular bathers at these beauty spots. Other councils such as Meath have deployed drones and CCTV to address these littering issues. Westmeath need to up their game,” he said.

Lake