11,000 households ‘can’t show how they’re disposing of their waste’

PEOPLE applying for planning permission in Kerry are to be asked about their arrangements for waste disposal, after it emerged 25% of households in the county have no visible means of getting rid of their waste.

Illegal dumping is getting worse and there has been a marked increase in the number of complaints from the public, according to a detailed report presented to the county council.

Senior environment engineer Brian Sweeney said of the 44,000 housesholds in Kerry, 11,000 could not show how they were disposing of their waste.

“An amount of waste is being burnt, or buried in holes in land, and there’s also illegal dumping going on,” he said.

“We need more help from the public if we’re to deal with the problem of illegal dumping. People need to be more vigilant and to report illegal dumping at every opportunity.”

Mr Sweeney said it would be impossible to do a waste audit on 11,000 households, but some auditing was going on in co-operation with the housing department.

Well over 700 reports of illegal dumping were received by the council last year. Some sites were cleaned up, only for dumping to resume in the same locations within a week.

But, Mr Sweeney said, more people in Kerry were taking a stand by reporting culprits and giving evidence in court.

More than 200 on-the-spot fines were issued last year and 45 cases were brought before the courts. Inquiries were continuing into 200 cases and it was hoped to have several more successful prosecutions, he added.

Kerry has two million visitors each year and tourism interests are concerned about the damage illegal dumping is doing to the county.

The state of litter-strewn country roads has been described as a disgrace, with food cartons, plastic drink bottles and cans and building site debris being scattered over wide areas.

Mr Sweeney said: “Most of this type of litter emanates from passing motorists and, again, a major culture change is required by this minority of people who use the countryside as their trash bin.”

However, dumping in commonage areas, including bogs, is giving cause for most concern, with household rubbish, white goods and abandoned cars being found in areas of great natural beauty.

For example, 210 tonnes of waste and 70 car wrecks were removed from Kilcummin bog, near Killarney, last year, and €30,000 was spent on a clean-up in the Killorglin area.

Mr Sweeney urged local communities to police their areas and monitor illegal sites.

Independent councillor Danny Healy-Rae called for the erection of anti-litter signs in foreign languages as some “newcomers” did not appear to observe the signs that were there.