Westmeath County Council said they are hoping to roll out CCTV to clamp down on dumping at a Mullingar–Kinnegad Municipal District meeting on Monday, 1 July.
“In all my years I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as bad,” said district engineer Pat Kavanagh.
The Council are sending staff to lakes, bogs and car parks to clear dumping incidents seven days-a-week. Mr Kavanagh said dumping is “totally uncivil” and added that it causes a cost to the taxpayer. He said money spent on cleaning up these sites is “being deferred from better projects”. The engineer explained that the council is assessing how to manage GDPR in the use of CCTV.
“Hopefully we’ll have that rolled out very soon. I can tell you it can’t be rolled out fast enough,” said Mr Kavanagh.
Cllr Bill Collentine said “some form of solution has got to be found”. The Fianna Fáil politician said “too much money” is spent collecting rubbish from a small group of people. He said the rubbish is “picked up today and put back tomorrow”.
Cllr Collentine — chair of Mullingar Tidy Towns — said a “colossal” amount of work and money goes into clean-ups.
Mr Kavanagh said if lakeside maintenance is not carried out constantly “you can see how quickly the area will deteriorate”. Gardaí have assisted in enforcement at lakes in recent weeks and Mr Kavanagh said dumping is particularly bad in these locations during good weather.
Cllr Emily Wallace thanked the Gardaí for their involvement in the last few weeks and said this made “a real difference”. The Fine Gael councillor also asked about the possibility of bins being emptied more regularly.
She suggested the Council should set up a direct line of communication with local communities so they can inform them “when bins are overflowing”. Cllr Wallace said she has seen examples of this at Milltownpass and Multyfarnham in recent weeks. The Fine Gael councillor explained that the communities “are being proactive” by placing signs asking people to not place rubbish beside full bins but this is not working.
“Seriously. People need to cop on. We need to also help,” she said.
Cllr Julie McCourt said dog-fouling is a “huge issue around the town” which can be seen along walkways, greenways and the canal. Cllr Ken Glynn supported Cllr McCourt on the issue which he has raised numerous times over the years. He joked that the chamber is “sick of listening to me going on about it”. She said dog walkers are bringing waste bags but are then throwing them into bushes.
“People have contacted me saying it’s disgusting, it’s terrible,” she said.
Cllr Denis Leonard said “illegal dumping has become an epidemic”. He said the existing bins are not being used properly as people are “stuffing them full” of household rubbish. Mr Kavanagh said it is “easy to put a bin out” but added that the issue is maintaining them. The engineer said they are “abused in many places” and agreed with Cllr Leonard that household waste is being placed in them.
Cllr Leonard also asked for the introduction of “roving vans” similar to those used for speeding. The Labour Party councillor said these measures have reduced speeding in many areas and the same can be applied to illegal dumping.
“It would be self-funding, I guarantee you for the first two or three years before people cop on,” he said.
