Not again!! Scandal of illegal bottle bank dumping not being addressed properly

As more evidence emerged in recent days of indiscriminate and illegal dumping at recycling areas in the county, a Donegal county council said that it is imperative that new CCTV legislation is passed as soon as possible.

And he warned that if serious inroads were not made into the increasing problems of rubbish disposal, the goodwill of community groups that are currently involved in cleaning many of the scenic areas of the county, “will simply disappear and they will eventually refuse to clean up messes left behind by others”.

The comments came from Bundoran based councillor Michael McMahon, after new photos emerged in recent days of the bottle bank and recycling area at the resort’s Astoria car park, which was strewn with litter and “the most unpleasant of items”.

He said: “ The legislation that will allow CCTV surveillance at these recycling areas must be passed as soon as possible. We are asking council workers and TÚS workers to go down and clean up after people. It is not acceptable in this day and age.

This photo was taken yesterday morning at the bottle banks area of the Astoria car park, near Bundoran's main beach, one that is happening at such facilities throughout the county, says Cllr McMahon

“This issue has been talked about for years but nothing has been done about it. These bottle banks need to have cameras and prosecutions followed up where illegal activity has been detected.

“It would be one of the ways to solve the problem and Ireland needs to come together on. People go out to do a day’s work for the council in the morning and the first thing they are hot with, as well as the local TÚS workers, is bags of very serious rubbish including nappies and sanitary items, all sorts of stuff, electric bulbs, chairs, grass. You name it and it is being dumped at the bottle banks. We’ve been bringing it up at council level forever.

“You clean the place up and it is finished by 10.30 and 11.30. You arrive back between 3-4 o’clock and you see the same amount of rubbish dumped there again. So people need to wise up here and as a local authority we need some solution to this.

He added that it was not the council’s fault and particularly not the litter wardens, who he said were doing a tremendous job with the resources they had, but a proper education programme to make those members of the public that continue to do this, understand that affects them as it does others.

“”It will get to the stage where council workers and community workers will stop lifting this stuff. And that will cause even more problems,” he said.