Illegal rubbish dumping has 'got out of hand' in rural Waterford

Illegal rubbish dumping is becoming an increasingly common occurrence in rural Waterford according to local councillors.

At a recent meeting of the Comeragh District Council, Councillor Liam Brazil (FG) raised the issue with Council engineers, saying that the issue getting out of control.

“I do believe that dumping and rubbish has got out of hand in the Comeragh area," he said.

"I think we have to do something about this soon because it’s totally unacceptable. I went for a walk on Sunday and every few yards there’s bags being dumped on the side of the road," he added.

"We have to try on work on CCTV if at all possible. I think since Covid people are gone lazy and they’re also not going to work as often to dump their bins, and so they’re finding a handy way now is to dump stuff on the side of the road."

Cathaoirleach of the Comeragh District, Cllr Seanie Power added: “It’s a huge problem and some people just don’t have respect for the place."

Cllr Brazil suggested erecting 'No Dumping' signs at blackspots and also looking at increasing education on the issue in local schools.

Niall Kane, Senior Executive Engineer with Waterford City and County Council, said that the council is looking at implementing CCTV.

“Dumping is an ongoing issue," he said

"It’s very important to report dumping because we need to build up a case to demonstrate that there has been an ongoing history of dumping in a particular area. We can’t just put up a camera," he added. “The education in schools is ongoing. There are competitions and various things highlighting the importance of environment."

Mr. Kane was skeptical however, about the use of signs, describing them as ‘litter generators’ 

He went on to comment: “One of the issues with a 'No Dumping' sign is it nearly advertises that this is a good place to dump. I’m somewhat reluctant to put up those signs.”