Big increase in illegal dumping in Uplands
OFFENDERS ARE BREAKING ALL 2KM TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
PEOPLE appear to be traveling at night to the Wicklow Uplands to dump in some of the most scenic locations in the county.
There has been a notable increase in illegal dumping and fly tipping since 2km travel restrictions were introduced due to Covid-19.
CCTV has been set up at a number of locations where dumping consistently takes place in order to try and catch the perpetrators,
Ian Davis of the Pure environmental project says similar problems are being experienced throughout the country.
‘It’s not just a Wicklow issue. Various local authorities from throughout Ireland have been reporting similar increases. We put a lot of cameras up at some big sites this week and removed all the rubbish as soon as possible.
‘It’s important to remove the rubbish quickly otherwise it attracts further dumping. There would have been dumping at some of the sites before but there are a few sites where we wouldn’t have seen dumping before.
‘It’s just people being lazy. Unauthorised waste collectors are still out there as well. It’s mainly domestic waste and black bags full of rubbish, but we have also come across house renovations materials like windows, doors floor boards and mattresses.’
On Thursday alone Ian responded to reports of five different dumping sites within the Wicklow Uplands. It seems most of the offenders are carrying out the dumping at night when there is less chance of encountering any Covid-19 Garda checkpoints.
‘I think a lot of it is happening at night. It’s quite difficult to get up to some of the sites because they are so remote so those responsible certainly aren’t sticking to the 2km travel restrictions,’ said Ian.
Last year ten dumping incidents were captured on CCTV, including faces and vehicle registrations. Ian is hopeful that successful prosecutions through the courts will put off other would-be offenders.
‘We had some sites monitored last year. We have passed on the information and hope that these cases proceed to prosecution which will help deter others from illegal dumping.’
Meanwhile, Pure Mile volunteers have still been out and about tidying up and collecting rubbish in their locality.
Ian said: ‘Obviously people can’t gather in groups but individuals and families have been going out on litter picks. We collected 150 bags from Pure Mile volunteers this week, which is very positive. The success of this environmental community project clearly demonstrates that people do care about the environment, and, that people want to make a difference to improve and enhance the environment.’