Lynch Camp leading by example in the fight against litter
Last week, members of the defence forces at Lynch Camp in Kilworth conducted a major litter pick across military lands.
With approximately 3,500 acres of land located across Kilworth hill, where a number of military and council roads are located, Commandant Tadhg O’Donoghue told The Avondhu that the major clean-up began following the cutting back of hedges.
“Since we cut back the ditches, I suppose it became particularly evident then. With lots of growth and high bushes, you wouldn’t see a lot of the rubbish, but when we cut it back, a generation’s worth of rubbish became evident. The sheer scale of the amount of rubbish we’ve picked already is shocking.
“We’ve decided that as a unit, that unit being 1BTI 1 Brigade Training Installation, we would conduct a campaign of litter picking, so we could start again and so we could say that all of the roads in the area are absolutely clear of litter and it’s a fresh start in that regard,” Comdt O’Donoghue said.
On Thursday last, April 1, members of the defence forces took to an area known locally as ‘the triangle’, which is in the vicinity of the Kilworth ranges and is popular amongst walkers.
Roughly twenty people participated in the socially distanced litter pick across the area, the majority of those being local people who are members of the defence forces and have a strong family background in the military.
The majority of items collected consisted of household waste and products left as a result of fly-tipping such as cans, drink bottles and food wrappers, however larger household items illegally dumped in the area were also found, including the cistern of a toilet, a mattress and a microwave.
“The problem of illegal dumping is a continuous issue in the area. You would notice anything from small crisp wrappers to the likes of entire bags of household waste and larger items, such as cisterns and sinks. Unless picked up early, it can spread with the wind, become more difficult to collect and ultimately, have a damaging effect on the ecosystem,” Comd’t O’Donoghue noted.
“It’s quite frustrating in the sense that all of these things could be easily recycled or put into the normal system of waste management or waste disposal”.
TAKING POSITIVE ACTION
According to Comdt O’Donoghue, the issue appears to be not one of people throwing rubbish while they are walking in the area, but rather one of people in cars at night time throwing rubbish from their windows or stopping the car briefly to throw an item over the ditch.
“We have a lot more recreational use of roads in the areas during the pandemic. We’d noticed a spike in a lot more people walking, and that is a great thing, but that has certainly made the problem with illegal dumping more evident.
“As members of the community and as citizens, the idea is of taking positive action within a community. I know a lot of communities are doing it, and it’s almost like we are a military village up here. We are taking pride in our local area and we feel one of the ways of policing this is through good example,” Comd’t O’Donoghue said.
Another clean up was also arranged recently by the defence forces at Lynch Camp, which included the area on the Mitchelstown to Fermoy road, between Corbett Court and the Gloccamaura Inn.
This clean up was also arranged following the cutting of ditches, which revealed a ‘generation of rubbish’, according to Comd’t O’Donoghue.
POLICING THE LOCAL ROADSIDES
From this litter pick, over 130 bags of rubbish were collected from the roadside, which local councillor and chairperson of the Fermoy Tidy Towns, Noel McCarthy, then arranged for council collection.
“The scale of the illegal dumping on the road was very concerning for citizens living in the area as well as military personnel based here. In doing this, we would hope that members of the community would notice that we are doing it.
“It raises the profile of the problem of illegal dumping in the area and also raises the profile of a community-based solution through the collective event or activity of picking this litter. Hopefully, that will discourage people or put pressure on people within the community not to allow it and police it within the community,” Comdt O’Donoghue added.