Seventy bags of rubbish left at illegal dump site in Cork
An investigation is underway after dozens of bags of rubbish were dumped on the road outside a notorious illegal dump site in Cork city which underwent a massive cleanup just weeks ago.
It is hoped that a CCTV system installed as part of the extensive week-long cleanup of the Ellis’s Yard site in Ballyvolane in February will help identify the culprits behind this incident.
Several dozen bags of mostly domestic waste were found dumped all over the road between the Ellis’s Yard site and the adjoining Spring Lane halting site on Monday evening.
It is believed the dumping occurred sometime between 8.30pm and 10pm.
City council officials were alerted and council workers were dispatched to remove the material at first light this morning.
It took a team of workers and two vans to clear and remove some 70 bags of rubbish and a mattress for proper disposal.
Council staff have now been instructed to shift through the bagged material in an effort to trace possible evidential material which could lead to the identification of the waste producer or those who dumped it.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Ken O’Flynn praised the council for the swift response to deal with the material and he condemned those responsible for dumping it.
He said such was the volume of material on the road on Monday night, it was almost impassable for a period, and a path had to be cleared to allow vehicles to pass safely.
I would hope that the CCTV system in the area will lead to the identification of those involved in this incident and that it will lead to a full prosecution of those responsible, to the fullest extent possible,” he said.
An estimated 200-tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish was removed from the city council-owned Ellis’s yard site during a massive week-long cleanup operation late last February. Asbestos was among the wide range of material dumped on the site.
An old caravan stuffed full of bags of rubbish was rolled down an exposed embankment into the site overnight mid-way through the cleanup. It was also removed.
A trawl through the material has led to the identification of several individuals who are now facing prosecution.
The yard has been plagued with illegal dumping on an industrial scale over the years, with clean-ups costing €570,000 and firefighters called to almost 100-fires there last year alone.
The site is zoned for Traveller accommodation in the 2015-2021 City Development Plan and there have been several calls for the council to prepare a long-term strategic plan to guide it its future development
The site is next to the council’s overcrowded Spring Lane halting site, where living conditions have been described as appalling.
The site, designed for less than a dozen families, is now home to more than 30, many of whom live in an authorised extension of the site.
