Illegal dumping an 'epidemic' in Cork, councillor says

Illegal dumping has reached "epidemic proportions" in a suburb on Cork's northside, it is claimed.

The city council is now facing calls for a special task-force to be set up, drawn from several directorates including environment, housing and law, to tackle the issue head-on in several pockets of Mayfield.

FG Cllr Joe Kavanagh said the lives of the “many decent people” living in the affected estates are being blighted by the “spiralling scourge of illegal dumping”.

There are so many decent people living in these areas who are being adversely affected - their lives are being turned upside down by a small minority who are making life a misery for everybody else. This illegal dumping of rubbish on a daily basis has now reached epidemic proportions and is now completely out of control," he said.

The worst affected areas are in estates off the North Ring Road, including Liffey Park and Ballinderry Park, and the so-called Tarry Path, which runs along open ground above Ballinderry Park and the rear of Avonmore Park and Mount Brosna.

More than a dozen council workers spent a day last week removing vast quantities of illegally dumped material from this area. But there were signs in the area yesterday of repeat dumping.

A huge mound of rubbish had been dumped against the wall of a gable-end house nearby.

The council has arranged for a skip to be delivered to the estate today to remove that pile but locals said they expect more rubbish to be dumped in both areas within weeks.

Residents, who declined to be named, said they have seen neighbours walking through the estates with wheelie bins to dump the contents on open ground.

FG Cllr Joe Kavanagh

The City Council said it has inspected the areas, that residents have been contacted in an attempt to gather information about those involved in illegal dumping, and that information about the proper disposal of waste has been circulated to homes in the area.

Mr Kavanagh suggested the development of a public park along the Tarry Path to be called Mayfield Memorial Gardens in memory of people in the area who have been affected by suicide. He said residents in Avonmore Park are open to this idea and are keen that the area is put to good use.

Officials said an assessment and costing of the works is underway and will be included in the 2019 draft parks capital programme for consideration.

The Council’s position will be strengthened by new waste management by-laws which were subject to public consultation late last year.

The laws will give local authorities power to call to homes and business and demand receipts to prove payment for rubbish collection.

Local authorities will also be able to request customer eircodes from bin companies to identify households that are not signed up for a commercial waste collection service.

The City spends an estimated €6.7m annually keeping the city clean and tackling illegal dumping.