Meet the contractor out to bust illegal dumpers

Coillte spends €450k a year cleaning up litter. We meet the contractor who’s out to bust the dumpers. Are bin charges to blame? asks Donal O’Keeffe

The Coolmakee road isn’t really much more than a boreen but it offers some spectacular views overlooking Fermoy. In the afternoon sun, the sound of birdsong fills the air. To the left are the evergreens bordering the woods, to the right is an uneven hedgerow, the whites of blackthorn trees and devil’s porridge dusted with the yellows of furze and buttercups.

Across from the entrance to the Coillte forestry, at a break in the hedge, the view is almost perfect. The blue sky seems huge and the Galtee Mountains tower to the north.