Councillors want gloves off in war on litter

When speed camera signs go up on roads, speed goes down and the same principle should be used in the war against flight tippers, a local councillor has suggested.

At the January meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad, Cllr Dennis Leonard said signs should warn that CCTV enforcement is going on, even if CCTV cameras are not there all the time.

He also said the council should follow up with prosecutions and name and shame adverts to deal with the rise in illegal dumping.

The official response from officials stated that the use of overt CCTV is being rolled out and it is the intention to use such footage as part of future prosecutions.

“I think what we need is a comprehensive ‘source-to-sea’ solution and what I mean by source-to-sea is that we have the right type of detection in place; we have the right type of follow-up and the right type of prosecution,” said Cllr Leonard.

He said that motorists don’t speed in areas where they believe they may be caught on speed cameras:

“So definitely the cameras work. The signage works. And I’m wondering could we come up with some kind of policy around CCTV in some of the beauty spots, even if we rotate it around, but keep the signs up all year.

“Now whether that’s monitored six weeks a year or all year, it should be monitored on an ongoing basis.”

Cllr Leonard said that the Boreen Bradach in Kinnegad was subject to 10 major dumps “of every type of appliance and equipment” in two months.

“Now, what that means is our council staff have to go out there at huge expense and clean it up and dispose of it – what should have been the obligation of whoever dumped it there to begin with,” he said.

Cllr Aoife Davitt supported Cllr Leonard’s calls. She told members that over Christmas she received pictures of the bring banks at St Colman’s and the pavements there were strewn with clothes and other items people had brought for recycling.

She also expressed disappointment at the level of illegal dumping that had been going on at sites close to Ladestown. “At this point, we have to have a register of the black spots to which we are going out time and time and time again.”

She said the council should put a notice on all the approach routes to Westmeath towns and villages, to say CCTV is in use by the council.

Bog clean-up

Cllr David Jones said that during a bog clean-up during Covid the council had collected one lorry load of rubbish from one bog road alone, dumped there by serial offenders.

He said having to pick up someone else’s rubbish was the most degrading thing anyone could be asked to do. He also said that CCTV should be installed at all bottle banks, and that the litter warden should be seen to visit those locations.

Also in favour of the suggestion was Cllr Alfie Devine, who revealed that recently while walking a six-kilometre stretch between Collinstown and Castlepollard, he counted more than 900 pieces of litter along the side of the road: “You wouldn’t see them when you’re in the car, but you see them when you’re walking or running or jogging or whatever,” he said, stating that it would be a good idea to erect signs saying ‘CCTV in operation’, and to move the cameras around.

Cllr Niall Gaffney said the legislation is there allowing the use of drones, which would allow effective monitoring of multiple areas for hours at a time.

The mayor, Cllr Ken Glynn, said the problem is “hugely frustrating” and referred to the fact that one person had even been dumping on the walkway opposite The Moorings.

“This is in full view of houses,” he said. “The only way this will stop is to find the people, fine them, and name them.

“We need to get the reputation of, basically, that Westmeath County Council are on the game; they’re not going to take this lying down. And they’re going to take the action – appropriate action – to be able to find them, bring them to court, and get them charged.”

Director of services Deirdre Reilly told members that what Cllr Leonard sought in his motion is what is happening, including the use of drones; however, she continued, those who commit the offences just continue:

“They have no respect whatsoever in relation to the CCTV. And I even had a report from Environment just recently where bags were dumped just outside the view of the CCTV camera.”

What is going to deter dumpers, she believes, is prosecution: “And that is the next step now. After we have all of these things in place like CCTV, drones, et cetera, et cetera, it is about prosecution.”