ILLEGAL DUMPING AT HOLBORN HILL
HOUSEHOLD rubbish being dumped illegally is a growing concern across the town and County.
The Sligo Champion has highlighted examples of the problem at Sligo Cemetery, Merville and Strandhill in recent weeks.
This latest picture shows a plastic bag full of waste left at the bottom of Holborn Hill, and it’s not the first time rubbish has been left at this very spot for the council to clean up.
There has been no litter warden on duty of late as Kevin Colreavy at Sligo County Council explains: “Sligo County Council had a period in recent weeks when there was only one Litter Warden available for the whole county.
“That issue has been resolved now and someone appointed in an acting role in last number of days to the vacant Litter Warden position.
“Therefore a number of incidents of illegal dumping that have arisen in last few weeks are been followed up now by our two Litter Wardens.
With regard to the issue of Illegal dumping Kevin Colreavy says: “Sligo County Council has not noticed any significant increase in the number of complaints in this regard.”
But he admits: “There are a few areas that could only be described as littering ‘ blackspots’, and we continue to try to identify those who may be responsible for dumping in these areas.”
He adds: “Sligo County Council also tries to ensure that any illegally dumped waste is removed as quickly as possible, but resource constraints mean that sometimes waste can be left for longer than anyone would like to see.
“But we would encourage anyone who may have any information with regard to illegal dumping to contact the Local Authority so that any problems can be investigated.
“The Council continues to work with the Tidy Towns and other community groups and Residents’ Associations around the town to try and encourage proper waste management.”
Staff shortages for council front line services are an ongoing problem with the impact visible for all to see, especially with regard to illegal dumping of household waste.
Despite this, Kevin Colreavy reminds us that Sligo Town has recently improved its standing in the Irish Business Against Litter ( IBAL) League table, moving up to 15th place ( tied with Fermoy in Co. Cork) from 29th position in the Country.
He also states that Sligo town has been found to be ‘ clean to European norms’, with special credit for this achievement to the serious and concerted efforts of the volunteers of Sligo Tidy Towns.