Fly tipping is 'getting out of hand' in parts of Offaly

The scourge of fly tipping has significantly increased in the last couple of months, according to the councillors of Birr Municipal District. 

The July meeting was told by Mary Hussey of the Council's Environment Section that there have been 169 community litter clean ups so far in 2022, with 18,759 kilograms of litter having been collected.

Cllr John Leahy warmly praised the wonderful community spirit which is so prominent in the villages, towns and rural areas of the District. "We are so fortunate in Offaly to have this fantastic community spirit in our midst. It's invaluable and a lot of people have it.

"However, there are also quite a few who have no civic spirit at all. 169 clean ups is a massive amount. The high number shows the scale of the littering and waste problem that we have. You know nearly 19,000 kilos of litter is enough to fill a huge eight wheeler truck capable of carrying 20 tonnes. Imagine if that was dumped by a truck on one of our town streets; what a sight that would be."

Cllr Leahy pointed out that it's obvious to everyone that fly tipping has been going up and up as everyone has emerged from the Pandemic and normality has returned.

"A lot of our litter problem is fly tipping by dashboard warriors, who are throwing out their litter as they are driving along. Much of the time they have been to a fast food restaurant and they are throwing out the fast food packaging. It's really disrespectful, mindless stuff. It's disrespectful to the people living in the area." Cllr Leahy said more CCTV cameras are needed, particularly in rural, out of the way areas.

He added that he hopes community spirit never dies. "If it does die I don't know where we'll end up."

He advocated delivering educational leaflets to houses in the region, outlining the issues of fly tipping and dog littering. He pointed out that he knows other regions in Ireland are suffering from the same problem.

Cllr Peter Ormond agreed, pointing out that the situation is worsening and it's frustrating. "In Shinrone the big increase in fly tipping has been very noticeable over the last couple of months since we emerged from Covid. As well as fast food packaging, drivers are also throwing out bottles of soft drinks. I think educational leaflets might make some difference. We need to do what we can to change people's mindset. For example, a lot of dog owners are still not bringing poo bags with them. I'd also like to see the litter warden visiting our villages and rural areas more."

Cllr John Clendennen pointed out that 504 complaints about littering throughout Offaly were made to Offaly County Council so far in 2022. 387 were investigated and are now closed with the remaining 114 open. The Council has taken legal action in the case of three complaints. Cllr Clendennen said taking legal action in only three instances was too little and it was perhaps indicative that the Council wasn't taking the litter problem seriously enough. Ms Hussey replied that the Council only takes legal actions "if we are sure of winning. It's a very costly process."

Cllr Clendennen said more CCTVs are needed. He also advocated using drone surveillance to tackle the problem. "We should invest in six or seven drones in the District and use them to monitor the situation. We have to crack down hard on the problem." Ms Hussey pointed out that it is illegal to use drones for this purpose.