Anti-litter funding
Additional funding to organise anti-litter projects has been welcomed by Wicklow Green Party TD Steven Matthews.
Deputy Matthews made his comments after the publication last week of the National Littering Pollution Monitoring System (NLPMS) Report.
The NLPMS gives a snapshot of litter pollution and allows for trends to be measured over time. €744,739 was allocated to support local authorities to organise anti-litter and graffiti initiatives.
Deputy Matthews said: ‘Unfortunately, the findings of this countrywide survey indicate that overall, we are going in the wrong direction in terms of litter and graffiti. The findings in the Report emphasise the need for projects such as the Anti-Litter and Anti- Graffiti Scheme. The funding is very welcome and will be provided to Local Authorities to conduct public awareness and education initiatives at a local level about both litter and graffiti. Wicklow County Council is best placed to help raise the awareness of the issue of litter locally and coming up with local solutions to local problems.’
The national report found cigarette-related items make up 53 per cent of the litter pollution identified nationwide. Passing pedestrians and motorists were found to be the main sources of litter.
‘I know anecdotally from speaking with Tidy Towns groups across Wicklow that they have noticed an increase in litter since the lockdown ended. One of the issues raised with me on several occasions recently is single use face masks being discarded. I would ask that everyone observes the public health advice and disposes of them safely or even better, start using a washable and reusable one. This is obviously just one small aspect of the overall problem. There’s a huge number of factors at play here but we all have our part to play in this,’ Deputy Matthews said.
The Green Party Deputy also called on the local authority to use some of its allocation to respond to a rise in targeted graffiti, particularly in Bray, and to highlight the impact of graffiti on towns and villages in the county.