Communities told ‘police’ their own areas to combat litter and dumping

Communities in Kerry have been urged to “police’’ their own areas to combat littering and illegal dumping, which continues to be a persistent problem in the county.

More than 400 cases were investigated by Kerry County Council in 2013, but there was not a single prosecution, a council meeting was told yesterday, in Tralee.

Litter wardens sifted through rubbish for evidence such as receipts and letters, but came up with nothing as offenders are becoming ever more careful not to leave clues as to their identities.

Environmental services director Oliver Ring said evidence was very difficult to find.

Some blue-flag beaches and Killarney National Park are among favourite dumping grounds. It is hoped the use of new covert cameras will provide evidence to bring culprits to court.

Dog litter is also a continuing problem, with a number of canine fouling “hotspots’’ now being observed by litter wardens.

Also, bring sites and bottle banks in urban areas are being kept under the surveillance of security cameras for illegal dumping.

Mr Ring said all areas now had easily accessible recycling facilities.

A total of 425 serious cases of illegal dumping were investigated, but there were no prosecutions. On-the-spot fines, however, netted €6,000.

The council had to carry out 27 clean-ups, costing a total of €8,000.

A national litter pollution monitoring survey found 93.5% of sites in Kerry to be unpolluted, or slightly polluted, but no significantly polluted sites were found.

Mr Ring said funding constraints meant local communities had an increasingly important role in dealing with the problem.

He encouraged people to be vigilant, to police their areas and to notify the council of littering and illegal dumping.

“The cooperation of the public will continue to play a significant role in addressing the problem,’’ he said, while welcoming a strong community drive on the issue.

Last year 45 groups in Kerry took part in the national Tidy Towns’ competition and 16 tonnes of roadside litter was collected from Kerry’s main roadsides in the spring period alone.

Twelve local groups are also doing regular clean-ups of 90km of roadways.