Offaly canal clean-up exposes horrific illegal dumping

A CLEAN-Up of the Grand Canal on the outskirts of Tullamore has exposed a large illegal dumping site.

A regular canal walking enthusiast contacted the Tullamore Tribune this week highlighting the dumping and calling on Offaly County Council to take action.

The clean-up on the banks of the Grand Canal involved the removal of scrub and briars which exposed the dumping.

The council recently revealed it has been given power to use CCTV cameras to identify culprits behind illegal dumping in areas around the county.

CCTV to be used to tackle illegal dumping in Offaly

The development was welcomed by Geashill based Junior agriculture Minister Pippa Hackett who said: “I receive many queries and complaints to my office in respect of illegal dumping and, up to now, the hands of Local Authorities, who are responsible for waste management and enforcement, have been tied in how they deal with such offences. I welcome this new law will allow for the utilisation of CCTV to identify and target offenders while at the same time ensuring that there are robust data protection safeguards in place.”

“While only a minority of citizens illegally dump or burn their waste, the impact of litter and fly-tipped waste on the environment, and often our most beautiful locations, is a blight on our community,” she added

The new law is part of the Circular Economy Bill 2022, announced last month by Green Party Minister Ossain Smyth, which includes a suite of measures that puts into law many of the commitments the Government has made in the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy and last year’s Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy.

Speaking on the Circular Economy Bill 2022, Minister Hackett said: “This is a momentous step towards our transition to a circular economy. We can no longer operate under the ‘take, make and waste’ model. We don’t have the natural resources to sustain such a model and our environment simply cannot cope with the amount of waste it produces. We must rethink the way we consume the goods and materials we use every day.”