City’s main dump blamed for huge swarms of flies

City’s main dump blamed for huge swarms of flies

by Eoin English

HUGE swarms of disease-spreading flies have descended on a Cork suburb close to the city’s main dump.

City officials pledged yesterday to investigate the situation after Douglas residents blamed earth-moving works at the Kinsale Road landfill site for the infestation.

There are fears that the flies — the common house fly and two species of bluebottles which are attracted to rotting organic matter — could spread disease and infection.

One woman living in a three-bedroom house overlooking the dump reacted with disgust last week when she returned home to find 500 flies in one of her bedrooms.

Local schools have had to hang fly traps in classrooms to tackle the problem.

And shoppers visiting nearby supermarkets have also been dodging huge swarms of flies.

Michelle Murphy, a member of the Alden and Alden Grove Residents’ Association, said urgent action is needed. “Normally, rats are the problem in this area. We’ve had to call in experts to deal with rats’ nests behind our homes. It’s all linked in to the dump.

“But this problem is just unbelievable. Last Thursday, I opened a bedroom window and came home later to find hundreds of flies in it.”

A neighbour hung a fly strip by a window one morning and a few hours later counted dozens of dead flies on it.

UCC-based insect expert Ken Bond said flies are an expected nuisance around landfill sites, but he said local authorities can take several steps to prevent the problem.

A spokesman for City Hall said they have been spraying against flies at the dump in recent days, but he said he would investigate further.

The latest issue came to light yesterday almost a week after it was confirmed that the landfill will still accept and store domestic waste even after it closes later this year.

It has been the city’s main dump for over half a century.

Following a massive public campaign almost 10 years ago, it was agreed to cease land-filling, cap most of the site and create a massive public park and playing pitches.

The city council has accelerated remediation works in recent months to bring forward its closure date to later this year. Once closed, the city’s waste will be land-filled at the dump in Youghal for several months.

And when that dump closes, all waste will be land-filled at the proposed superdump at Bottlehill.

Works are under way to cap three hectares of the Kinsale Road site and build new access roads and playing pitches.

Meanwhile. the council has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a licence to operate the transfer station facility and a decision is awaited.

Angry public representatives are seeking a meeting with city officials to discuss the controversial proposal.

Activities such as the waste drop-off from cars and trailers, the civic amenity recycling operation, the waste timber recycling, green waste composting, and electrical and electronic waste drop-off operations will continue at the site.