‘Epidemic’ of dumping requires ‘name and shame’ response

Litter louts should be liable to on-the-spot fines of €1,000 – and fines of €5,000 if caught after an investigation.

That’s the only way of tackling the epidemic of littering, Cllr Alfie Devine argued, as he spoke on two motions on the subject of litter and illegal dumping at the April meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad.

Arising out of a long discussion in which councillors suggested increased use of signage, cameras, drones, and even going through bags of rubbish to find identifiable material and employing “name and shame” campaigns, members agreed that at their next meeting, they will put together a special task force to come down hard on littering.

Cllr Devine’s first motion called on the council to write to Bord na Móna “as a matter of urgency” asking that they secure all lanes and entrances to unused bogs, preventing vehicular access.

He also suggested that the council roll out cameras in conjunction with Bord Na Mona in those areas as soon as possible.

The second motion by Cllr Devine proposed that the municipal district consider raising the fines for anyone caught by investigation or otherwise to €1,000 for on-the-spot offences detected and €5,000 for anyone caught by investigation or otherwise dumping on boglands and laneways in the area.

In respect to the first motion, the written response stated that if the members were in agreement, a letter could be sent to Bord Na Mona.

Regarding the motion proposing a change to the fines structure, the response stated that litter fines are determined by the Litter Pollution Act, 1997 (as amended), which provides for on the spot fines of €150 for littering offences or €3,000 if convicted in the District Court.

A motion on the same subject was also proposed by Cllr Bill Collentine: he said the municipal district should consider setting up a department to investigate and identify culprits engaging in dumping.

To that, the response from the district was that the Litter Management Plan 2024-2026 is being implemented. “The Community Wardens in the municipal districts investigate and identify culprits of illegal litter dumping with the assistance of CCTV cameras which are being used at certain locations to identify and prosecute offenders,” he was informed.

Cllr Devine said Bord na Mona and owners of private bogs needed to “take some ownership” of the situation by at least securing their entrances: “People are driving in, they’re fly-tipping. There’s laneways put into these bogs and they’re fly-tipping at the end of the lane and just driving off,” he said, adding that he did not see why the council had to foot the bill for all the cameras – and the bill for the clean-ups.

Cllr Niall Gaffney seconded Cllr Devine’s motion on the Bord na Móna proposal. “Everywhere, every bog, every little laneway into it – with the exception of community clean-ups or activity from the council – there’s rubbish.

There’s littering of every shape and size,” he said, adding that just the previous weekend, he was made aware of two incidences at the same location in Craddenstown.

Cllr Emily Wallace also felt there was an onus of responsibility on Bord na Móna, but went on to point out that on all social media platforms, during the good weather, there were several private operators offering their services to clean out people’s garages, or clear away their garden waste.

“Why are we not following those?” she asked, stating that they should be asked to show where they are depositing waste, and what permits they have.

Cllr David Jones remarked that it is not expensive to get rid of rubbish: he cleared a pile of rubbish he found dumped in a bog, packed it into his own van – and only had to pay €3 to dispose of it.

He said that at the moment, the Drumcree bogs are “destroyed”.

Cllr Denis Leonard said a multi-agency approach is needed, and also a proactive approach. He added that it was beyond him how Bord na Móna could operate a waste collection business – but turn a blind eye to the dumping taking place on its land.

“Some of these bogs are natural heritage sites. They’re on UNESCO and other maps – and here we are allowing them to be dumped on,” he said.

The mayor, Cllr Ken Glynn, supported the motions proposed, saying he always favoured a zero tolerance approach.

Cllr Julie McCourt said seven bags of rubbish had been collected by the council at the diving board over the weekend thanks to people dumping takeaway boxes, and Cllr Andrew Duncan remarked that he thought much of the problem was down to serial offenders – many of whom are not paying their fines when caught.